Roberto Clemente is considered one of Puerto Rico's most importantMajor League Baseball players and became the first Latin American player to enter theNational Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. As a humanitarian, he became known for his philanthropic activities and for being outspoken in civic issues that affected the Hispanic and Latino communities. In both of these facets, Clemente left a long-lasting legacy that remains socially relevant and the subject of academic study and recognitions over fifty years after his death.
MLB shortstopCarlos Correa has shared what he admired most about Clemente as a player: "The passion, the way he played, the way he went about his business every single day. Every time he put on his uniform he felt like the luckiest man in the world so that for me is what I admire most."[1]
Richard Rossi, a formerevangelical minister, submitted a request to theHoly See to consider Clemente'scanonization as a saint.[2] TheCongregation for the Causes of Saints, responsible for these issues, responded by confirming receipt of the letter and directing Rossi to work through theArchbishop of San Juan – the jurisdiction in which Clemente died; Rossi issued a press release showing a picture of the response and said that it showed that the Pope was personally supporting Rossi's effort.[3]
Rossi received positive comments from the executive director of the Clemente Museum in Pittsburgh,[4] while Carmen Nanko-Fernandez, from the Chicago Theological Union, was not confident that Clemente would be canonized, saying that Hispanic Catholics can continue to privately venerate Clemente.[4]Neil Walker, a Roman Catholic whose father was a teammate of Clemente, stated that "he's somebody who lived his life serving others, really. So if it would happen, I wouldn't be terribly surprised by it."[5]
In July 2017, Rossi said that the canonization requirement of a miracle was met that month whenJamie Nieto, who played Clemente in Rossi's film and was paralyzed from the neck down in a backflip accident three years after the Clemente film was released, walked 130 steps at his own wedding to fellow OlympianShevon Stoddart; Nieto stated that the success was due to his hard work, and the Holy See stated that they were not in continued contact with Rossi.[6]
Clemente's life has been the subject of numerous books, articles, and documentaries:
1968, 1973:Roberto Clemente, Batting King byArnold Hano[7][8]
1973:Roberto Clemente byIra Miller (UPI)[9]
1973:A Touch Of Royalty, a documentary narrated in English and Spanish versions by Puerto RicanAcademy Award winner actorJosé Ferrer.
1973:Olu Clemente — The Philosopher of Baseball, a bilingual play featuring poetry, music and dancing, byMiguel Algarin and Jesús Abraham Laviera, performed on August 30, 1973, at theDelacorte Theatre,Central Park, and published in 1979 inNuevos pasos: Chicano and Puerto Rican drama byNicolás Kanellos andJorge A. Huerta.
1974:Who Was Roberto? A Biography of Roberto Clemente by Phil Musick[10]
1993:Roberto Clemente: A Video Tribute to One of Baseball's Greatest Players and a True Humanitarian, documentary directed by Rich Domich and Michael Kostel, narrated by Puerto Rican actorsRaul Julia (in Spanish) andHéctor Elizondo (in English).
2006:Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero byDavid Maraniss.
2008: "Roberto Clemente": One-hour biography as part of thePublic Broadcasting Service history series,American Experience which premiered on April 21, 2008.[11] The film is directed byBernardo Ruiz, narrated byJimmy Smits and features interviews with Vera Clemente,Orlando Cepeda andGeorge F. Will.[11] The production received anALMA Award.
2010:Chasing 3000 a movie based on a true story of two kids who travel from Los Angeles to Pittsburgh hoping to see Clemente's 3,000th hit.
2011:21: The Story of Roberto Clemente was released, agraphic novel by Wilfred Santiago (published byFantagraphics) detailing Clemente's life in a comic-book format. In their USA Today Magazine article titled "Saluting Pittsburgh's Finest" Richard E. Vatz and Lee S. Weinberg said Clemente was "arguably the best in the history of the game" and stated that "understanding the magnitude of Roberto Clemente requires an appreciation of the gestalt of his presence, which was greater than the sum of his statistics".[12]
2011:DC-7: The Roberto Clemente Story, a bilingual musical about Clemente's life, had its world premiere in November 2011 with a full house at the Teatro SEA in Manhattan[13] before moving to New York'sPuerto Rican Traveling Theatre for a successful seven-week run.[14] The show ran from December 6 through December 16, 2012 at Puerto Rico's Teatro Francisco Arrivi.
2013:Baseball's Last Hero: 21 Clemente Stories, the first feature dramatic film on Clemente's life was finished by California filmmaker andPittsburgh nativeRichard Rossi.[15][16]
Clemente has been honored with statues and other artwork in several locations.[17]
The Pirates originallyerected a statue in memory of Clemente atThree Rivers Stadium, just before the1994 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. It has since been moved toPNC Park when it opened in 2001, and stands outside the park's centerfield gates.[18]
TheLouisville Slugger Museum & Factory unveiled a lifelife statue of Clemente in 2021 in a ceremony with his sons. It was dedicated byRoberto Clemente Jr. on what would have been his father's 87th birthday.[19]
