Roberto Clemente

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Roberto Clemente : biography

August 18, 1934 – December 31, 1972

In June 2013, at aforementioned Clemente Park in The Bronx, a statue of the Hall-of-Fame icon, sculpted by Cuban-American Maritza Hernandez, was finally installed. It depicts Clemente doffing his cap after notching his 3,000th hit on Sept. 30, 1972.

Biographies and documentaries

Clemente’s life has been the subject of numerous books, articles and documentaries:

David Maraniss wrote a book titled Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball’s Last Hero, which was published in 2006.

Former Major League pitcher Tom Walker almost shared in the fate of Clemente. However, he escapted death and later fathered Neil Walker, who now plays for the Pittsburgh Pirates. http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/pittsburgh-pirates-second-baseman-on-the-gift-of-life/

Clemente was also the subject of a one-hour biography as part of the Public Broadcasting Service history series, American Experience which premiered on April 21, 2008. The film is directed by Bernardo Ruiz, narrated by Jimmy Smits and features interviews with Vera Clemente, Orlando Cepeda and George F. Will. The production received an ALMA Award.

In 2011 was released, a by Wilfred Santiago (published by Fantagraphics) 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".Richard E. Vatz and Lee S. Weinberg, Saluting Pittsburgh’s Finest. USA Today Magazine. July 2008.

A movie called Chasing 3000 was created based on a true story of two kids named Mickey (played by Ray Liotta, Trevor Morgan and Blake Woodyard) and Roger (played by Jay Karnes, Rory Culkin and Nicholas Brady) as they go on an adventure to travel across the United States to see Roberto Clemente’s 3000th hit.

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 before moving to New York’s Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre for a successful seven-week run. The show ran from December 6 through December 16, 2012 at Puerto Rico’s Teatro Francisco Arrivi.