For my book report I read the book The Story of Roberto Clemente, All-Star Hero by: Jim O’Connor.  I found that Roberto Walker Clemente was a pretty interesting guy.  He was born on August 18, 1934 in Carolina, Puerto Rico to his parents Melchor and Luisa Clemente.  In 1948 Roberto was first discovered by Robero Martin , the coach of the Sello Rojo softball team, while playing baseball with an old broom stick and can.  He immediately convinced Roberto Clemente to play for the Sello Rojo softball team.  He played shortstop, and amazed the fans with his diving and acrobatic catches.  But Martin soon decided that Roberto was to slow to play shortstop, so he was moved to the outfield were he learned the necessary skills that would eventually make him the best right fielder in baseball.

 Roberto Clemente excelled at both baseball and ran track while he went to high school, and was seriously considered for the Puerto Rican Olympic team in 1952.  He could jump over 6 feet in the high jump and he could throw a javelin 195 feet.

 In 1952 Roberto Clemente attended an open tryout in Santurce, sponsored by the Brooklyn Dodgers’ number one scout, Al Campanis.  There was 72 kids at the tryouts that day.  First Campanis had everyone line up in center field and throw to home plate.  Throw after throw fell short until Roberto’s turn.  He came up and threw a strait hard throw that hit the catcher directly in the mit with a loud pop.  So Campanis had him through another one, which was as good as the first.  Campanis then told the rest of the 71 guys to go home, and Roberto to say.  First Campanis had Roberto run the 60 yard dash.  He was amazed when Roberto ran it in a sizzling 6.4 seconds.  Next they moved to the batting cages.  For 20 minutes Roberto hit one line drive after another.  Campanis and the Dodgers wanted to sign him right then, but he was only 17 and he had to be 18 before he would be able to play in the Major Leagues.  Although three days later he signed with a local semi-pro team the Santurce Crabbers.

 He played with the Crabbers for 1 season before coming back to the Major Leagues and sighed a contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1954.  The Dodgers offered him a $10,000 signing bonus and a salary of $5,000.  On February 19, 1954 he signed the Dodgers contract.  And his Major League career was about to begin.

 After spring training Robero did not join the Dodgers in Brooklyn, he was scent to the Dodgers farm team, the Montreal, Royals.  Roberto was not happy, everything was strange to him.  He was home sick of Puerto Rico.  So in 1954 he was drafted by the Pittsburgh, Pirates.

 When Roberto left Puerto Rico that spring he did not even know where Pittsburgh was.  But he got off to a great start with the pirates.  He had an inside-the-park home run against the Yankees, and drove in a run that gave the Pirates their first win of the season.  He played right field for the Pirates.

 Roberto was only 20 years old, and spoke almost no English at all, which was not good.  Pittsburgh was not integrated in 1955.  When he went to Forbes Field he didn’t see another black except for 2 teammates.  Roberto also encountered a lot of racial discrimination.  It started in spring training when a Pittsburgh sportswriter labeled Roberto a "Puerto Rican hot dog."  Although Roberto spoke very little English he knew what the word nigger meant.  Roberto once said " I don’t believe in color; I believe in people."

 Roberto played 5 seasons with the Pirates before finally wining the World Series.  1960 was the year the Pirates could do no wrong.  Led by Roberto Clemente, Kick Groat, Bill Mazeroski, Bill Virdon, and Dick Stuart, Pittsburgh snatched first place in May and never let it go.  They won 23 games in their final at-bat.  In May Roberto had a .353 batting average.  In one game at Forbes Field, Roberto caught a ball and went head first into a concrete wall some how managing to throw his head back and only cut his chin.
 The Pirates forced a powerful New York Yankees team in the 1960 World Series.  The Pirates took the series into the seventh game.  Few people expected the Pirates to win, but sure enough they pulled it off.  The Pirates won the game in the ninth inning win Bill Mazeroski smashed the ball over the fence for a home run.

 The very next season Roberto Clemente also had a very good year.  Although they did not win the World Series, Roberto did win the National League batting title and a Gold Glove for the best-fielding right fielder.

 In 1964 Roberto met Vera Zabala in Carolina, Puerto Rico.  They became engaged before spring training and married when the season ended.  He met Vera at a drug store.  She was 20 years old and also had grown up in Carolina.  Roberto asked Vera out on a date, but her parents wouldn’t allow their daughter to date someone they didn’t know.  But finally Vera said she would be able to go out with him if 4 other people went with them.  Roberto was going to take her to a baseball game for their first date, but it was rained out.  It must have been a success though because they continued to date all winter, and by the time Roberto went back to spring training Vera and Roberto were engaged.

 In 1966 Roberto finally won his first MVP award.

 Another big change happened in Roberto’s life that year.  He and Vera had become parents.  Their first son Roberto Jr. was born in 1965, so Roberto insisted that Vera and Roberto Jr. return back home to Puerto Rico.

 Four years later, in 1970, Roberto was honored on Roberto Clemente Night at the Pirates new stadium Three Rivers Stadium.  He was given a lot of awards and gifts including a scroll signed by over 300,000 people in Puerto Rico.  Thousands of dollars was also donated in his name to his favorite charity in Pittsburgh.  The entire ceremony was broadcast on radio and TV in Puerto Rico.

 The very next season the Pirates again won the world series.  This time the Pirates would have to face the Baltimore, Orioles who won the World Series the previous year.  The Pirates again took the series into the seventh game.  The Pirates won the game with a 2-1 victory.  The celebration was as big as it was in 1960.  Roberto finished the series with a .414 batting average and several spectacular catches.

 In 1972 Roberto had another great season.  During the season he hit his 3,000 career hit.  Only 10 players before him had done that.

 In December 1972 a massive earthquake struck the Central American country of Nicaragua.  An estimated 7,000 people were killed, and another estimated thousands of people were left without food shelter, or water.  Nicaragua badly needed help.  So Roberto was asked to be an honorary chairman of the Puerto Rican Earthquake Relief Committee, and he immediately agreed.

 He started to raise money as fast as he could.  Contributions of food, money, clothing, and medicine poured in and were sent to Nicaragua.  But some of the supplies were being stolen and sold for high prices.  When Roberto heard what was going on he was furious, and decided to accompany the next planeload of supplies to Managua and supervise their distribution himself.

 Finally at 9:22 p.m. the old DC-7 plane rumbled down the runway and took off.  Before long there was trouble.  One of the engines exploded so the pilot turned the plane around and started heading back.  But there was more explosions and the plane went down in the Caribbean Sea.  Unfortunantly Roberto Clemente was not found and died at sea.

 In 1973 Roberto Was admitted to the Hall of Fame, and was the first Latin American to ever be admitted.

 In my book Roberto Clemente is an All-Star Hero.  He lived a great life and to this day he still is remembered be many Puerto Ricans as one great guy.