PUERTORRICAN
LEGEND
Roberto Clemente
Roberto Clemente Walker was born in Barrio San Anton in Carolina, Puerto Rico,
August 18, 1934. The youngest of four children, Roberto excelled in track and field,
winning medals in the javelin throw and short distance races. However, his real love
was baseball. He played amateur baseball with Juncos Double A Club and soon went
on to play with the Santurce Crabbers in the Puerto Rican Winter League. From
Santurce he signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers and was assigned to play for their top
affiliate, the Montreal Royals.
In 1954, the Pittsburgh Pirates obtained Roberto with the # 1 pick of the draft, which was awarded to the
Pirates. Clemente joined the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1955, where he played his entire eighteen year Major
League Baseball career from 1955 to 1972. Roberto played in two World Series, batting .310 in 1960 and
.414 in 1971. He was the National League Batting Champion four times, was awarded twelve Gold Gloves,
selected National League MVP in 1966 and was chosen as the MVP in the 1971 World Series. On November
14, 1964, he married Vera Cristina Zabala in Carolina, Puerto Rico. They had three sons: Roberto Jr., Luis
Roberto and Roberto Enrique. Proud of his heritage Roberto insisted that Vera give birth to all three sons in
Puerto Rico. The boys were six, five and two, respectively, when their father met his untimely death.
3,000 Hit
September 30, 1972 - Roberto Clemente's 3,000th hit!
