SJA - Roberto Clemente

My great friend Bob asked that I retell one of my favorite "magic moments" in baseball ... so I shall.

I remember many life altering events which occurred around the globe as an impressionable young boy residing in the hills and hollows of West Virginia, most of which were in the form of blurry images brought directly into our living room by way of an old floor model, black and white RCA TV. We were able to receive a breathtaking total of 8 TV stations, but at the time, that TV was my primary window to the world.

I listened in horror and shock as word of the tragic and untimely death of our young and beloved president filled the airwaves, and the seemingly endless days which followed watching as he was eventually laid to rest in Arlington. Just as shocking was the fatal shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald by Jack Ruby as he was being led from a Texas jail ... later on I would see the arrival of The Beatles to America, and their appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show ... I sat there confused and concerned about my future as the dead and dying were carted away in the jungles and rice fields of Viet Nam, while protesters and rioters burned our cities to the ground ... and I believe I saw a man walking on the moon ... and so much more ...

Among those epic events was a very magic moment in baseball ... in those days we were able to receive WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh PA, and that meant that the Pittsburgh Pirates were aired on nearly a daily basis. I hardly missed a game, and would listen intently to every word as Pirate's announcer Bob Prince called the games. The Pirates had good teams during a span of several years back then, and good players too, such as Bob Robertson, Manny Sanguillen, Mudcat Grant, Willie Stargell, Bill Mazeroski and a young fellow by the name of Roberto Clemente.

Roberto Clemente was something else ... born in small barrio San Anton in Carolina, Puerto Rico, he was the youngest of seven children. I would watch in amazement at how gracefully and effortlessly Clemente appeared as he played the game he loved. His movements were deceptive, his natural abilities made it look easy, but Clemente always gave his all, and at full speed. He played right field, and could catch a fly ball at the wall, and in one smooth motion fire it all the way to the catcher as a strike behind home plate ...yes, he was something else ...

My magic moment occurred in game six of the 1971 World Series between the Pirates and the Baltimore Orioles when slugger Frank Robinson came to the plate and launched a 300-foot fly toward Clemente that would have surely scored Merv Rettenmund who was on third base. As soon as Clemente pinched the ball in his glove, in a flash he ripped it out and rifled a strike to the awaiting catcher's mitt. Rettenmund scurried back to third base unable to score and the Orioles were held at bay. The Pirates went on the win the '71 World Series in seven games, and Roberto Clemente was named the 1971 World Series MVP ... yes, he was something else ...

Roberto Clemente was not only a great player on the baseball diamond, he was an even greater person off the field. He was a hero, especially to the Latinos. Tragically, on December 31, 1972, Clemente had endeavored to personally direct a relief mission to earthquake torn Nicaragua. Bound for destruction, Clemente and four others loaded a small DC-7 plane with much needed food and supplies. The group never made it beyond the San Juan border as the over-crowded aircraft immediately crashed into 30 feet of water in the Caribbean Sea. Speculation that cargo shifting during flight had caused the plane to go down. Rescue efforts began immediately, but there were five fatalities including Clemente, his body was never found. The entire world was in shock, especially an impressionable young boy from the hills and hollows of West Virginia ... those days are long behind me now, but that magic moment in game six of the '71 World Series is forever etched in my mind.

"He played the game of childhood dreams, with humble grace of mountain streams. He learned so early through his time, the selfless purpose of his life,

His human pride, his elegance, not in a hundred years surpassed. From far away gave us a gift, too valuable to leave adrift,

Some saw the game as being the end, he knew the end and played, he played! When in the face of human pain, some wasted time, he ran and helped,

For all who knew and didn't know, they were in front of royal grace, a modest place where rivers wed, saved us a wall of right field fence,

On holidays of cheer and joy, when smiles abound for girl and boy, there is a town down by the sea, where grown men cry on New Year's eve,

Remind me game of boyhood dreams, that men of grace knew how to play. The game's true leaders learn early in time, the selfless purpose of their lives." ... Juan A. Perez

Please share your magic moments with us --sja