"The Great One"

Roberto Walker Clemente was born on August 18, 1934, in Barrio San Anton, Carolina, Puerto Rico. He signed with the Santurce Crabbers of the Puerto Rico League on October 9, 1952, played for the Brooklyn Dodgers' Montreal farm team in 1954, became the first draft choice of the Pittsburgh Pirates on November 22, 1954, and played right field for the Pirates for the first time on April 17, 1955. In the 1960 World Series he hit safely in all seven games. He won batting titles in 1961 with a .351 average, in 1964 with a .339 average, in 1965 with a .329 average, and in 1967 with a .357 average, and in 1966 he received the National League Most Valuable Player Award. In the 1971 World Series he again hit safely in all seven games and was named the Most Valuable Player. On September 30, 1972, he collected his 3,000th hit. He died in a plane crash off the coast of San Juan, Puerto Rico, on December 31, 1972, and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on August 6, 1973.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania · United States