Roberto Clemente Marquee Hall of Fame 1973

b. August 18, 1934 · Pittsburgh Pirates 1955–1972

Roberto Clemente played all 18 of his seasons for Pittsburgh and finished with exactly 3,000 hits — the last of them on September 30, 1972, in what turned out to be his final regular-season at-bat. He batted .317 for his career, won twelve Gold Gloves in right field, and was Most Valuable Player in 1966.

He was the first Latin American player elected to the Hall of Fame, and he spent much of his career being written about in phonetically rendered English and called by a name he had not chosen. He was direct about both.

On December 31, 1972, he boarded an overloaded cargo aircraft carrying earthquake relief to Nicaragua, having heard that earlier shipments were being diverted. It crashed on takeoff from San Juan. He was 38. The Hall of Fame waived its waiting period and elected him the following year.

Honors

Award	Times	Years
All-Star selection	12	1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972
Gold Glove	12	1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972
The Sporting News All-Star	5	1961, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1972
Babe Ruth Award	1	1971
Most Valuable Player	1	1966
The Sporting News Player of the Year	1	1966
World Series MVP	1	1971

Batting, season by season

Year	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG
1955	PIT	124	474	48	121	23	11	5	47	18	60	2	.255
1956	PIT	147	543	66	169	30	7	7	60	13	58	6	.311
1957	PIT	111	451	42	114	17	7	4	30	23	45	0	.253
1958	PIT	140	519	69	150	24	10	6	50	31	41	8	.289
1959	PIT	105	432	60	128	17	7	4	50	15	51	2	.296
1960	PIT	144	570	89	179	22	6	16	94	39	72	4	.314
1961	PIT	146	572	100	201	30	10	23	89	35	59	4	.351
1962	PIT	144	538	95	168	28	9	10	74	35	73	6	.312
1963	PIT	152	600	77	192	23	8	17	76	31	64	12	.320
1964	PIT	155	622	95	211	40	7	12	87	51	87	5	.339
1965	PIT	152	589	91	194	21	14	10	65	43	78	8	.329
1966	PIT	154	638	105	202	31	11	29	119	46	109	7	.317
1967	PIT	147	585	103	209	26	10	23	110	41	103	9	.357
1968	PIT	132	502	74	146	18	12	18	57	51	77	2	.291
1969	PIT	138	507	87	175	20	12	19	91	56	73	4	.345
1970	PIT	108	412	65	145	22	10	14	60	38	66	3	.352
1971	PIT	132	522	82	178	29	8	13	86	26	65	1	.341
1972	PIT	102	378	68	118	19	7	10	60	29	49	0	.312
Career	—	2433	9454	1416	3000	440	166	240	1305	621	1230	83	.317

On this day & linked events

1934

Born August 18, 1934

Carolina, , P.R.

1972

Died December 31, 1972

1955

Major-league debut: Roberto Clemente

Roberto Clemente made a major-league debut on April 17, 1955.

1967

Final major-league game: Roberto Clemente

Roberto Clemente played a final major-league game on October 3, 1972.

Image: Public domain