December 31, 1972 - Roberto Clemente, 38, Pittsburgh Pirates RF:
Clemente, Roberto Walker (1934-1972), Puerto Rican professional baseball player, the first Hispanic player elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame (1973) and the second player to be honored on a United States postage stamp.
Born in Carolina, Puerto Rico, Clemente joined a professional Puerto Rican baseball team at age 17. At the end of the 1953 season he signed with New York's Brooklyn Dodgers, but in 1954 the last-place Pittsburgh Pirates drafted Clemente from the Dodgers.
After a 1956 automobile accident, Clemente played with chronic back pain. A battery of other serious ailments plagued him throughout his career, but his performance consistently belied his discomfort.
His World Series batting average of .362 helped the Pirates win two world championships (1960, 1971). He was voted the most valuable player in the National League (NL) in 1966, the same year his peers named him outstanding player of the year.
He held 4 NL batting titles, won 12 consecutive Gold Gloves for fielding excellence, and in 1972 became the 11th player in major league history to reach 3,000 hits. Having played every season with the Pittsburgh Pirates since 1955, Clemente's career ended tragically on December 31, 1972, when he died in an airplane crash en route to Nicaragua with supplies for earthquake victims.
"He gave the term 'complete' a new meaning. He made the word 'superstar' seem inadequate. He had about him the touch of royalty." Former MLB Commissioner Bowie Kuhn.
"Clemente is a great hero for all Latin players especially Puerto Ricans." "Not only was he one of the best baseball players ever, but he was a great human being as well." Juan Gonzalez, Texas Rangers.
"Growing up in Puerto Rico we got to learn a lot about his character, it was obvious that not only was he one of the greatest players, but a great human being as well." Bernie Williams, New York Yankees.
"He's the strangest hitter in baseball, figure him one way and he'll kill you another." Sandy Koufax, former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher.
"I would be lost without baseball. I don't think I could stand being away from it as long as I was alive." Roberto Clemente.
