Roberto Clemente - “The Great One” - rose to stardom in right field for the Pittsburgh Pirates, but his baseball journey started in his home country of Puerto Rico. Clemente first entered the ranks of professional baseball as a teenage phenom with Puerto Rican giants Santurce Cangrejeros. His time with Santurce impressed the Brooklyn Dodgers who signed Clemente in February 1954 and sent him to play with their affiliate team the Montreal Royals until the Pirates claimed him as the first selection in the Rule 5 draft that November. Clemente and the Pirates struggled during his first few seasons, but in 1960 he came into his own as his offensive abilities caught up with his defensive prowess and Pittsburgh went on to beat the New York Yankees in a seven-game World Series.
On September 30, 1972 Roberto Clemente became just the 11th player to record 3,000 hits when he hit a double against the New York Mets in what proved to be his final regular season at-bat. He made one more regular season appearance, his 2,433rd as a Pirate, on October 3 to tie Honus Wagner’s record for most games played for the team. Clemente passed away tragically on December 31 of that year. Attempting to provide aid and relief following a massive earthquake in Nicaragua, Clemente was in a plane that crashed just off the coast of Isla Verde, Puerto Rico. Following his sudden death, Clemente was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame through a special election on March 20, 1973. His famous number, 21, was retired by the Pirates that same year.
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