Those fortunate enough to have seen Roberto Clemente display his skills on the baseball diamond before he tragically died 53 years ago will remember his violent swing, his galloping around the bases and maybe above all else, his cannon of a throwing arm.
The Great One played with an unparalleled passion for the game, one that has been lauded by millions since he perished in a plane crash on New Year’s Eve 1972 while bringing supplies from his native Puerto Rico to earthquake-stricken Nicaragua.
But that passion wasn’t limited to the sport in which he excelled – it spilled over into all other aspects of his life. And that’s what Roberto Clemente Jr. remembers just as much as his father’s on-field exploits.
Clemente Jr. will be front and center for the next several days as Roberto Clemente Weekend unfolds in and around Pittsburgh.
Among other events, the weekend will feature the Roberto Clemente Foundation’s Ambassador Dinner, a fundraiser that sustains numerous foundation programs, including the Little Legends 21 baseball activities, the Roberto Clemente Fund at UPMC Children’s Hospital, veterans and military support endeavors and efforts to fight food insecurity.
The Ambassadors Dinner will take place Friday, Sept. 12, at the Heinz History Center and Little Legends 21 baseball activities will take place Saturday in Munhall. Also from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, the Clemente Bridge Festival – a fundraiser for the Clemente Museum – will be held on the bridge next to PNC Park. And later Saturday, the premiere of the new documentary “Clemente” will be shown at the Byham Theater.
Other screenings of the documentary will take place around the area, including at the Parkway Theater & Film Lounge, 644 Broadway, in Stowe Township.
Parkway Theater screenings are set for 6:15 p.m. Friday, 5 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Sunday, 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18, and 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21.
Tickets are $10 and no online sales are available. The theater can seat 45 people.
Another showing of the documentary will take place Sunday at PNC Park and on Monday, Major League Baseball’s annual Roberto Clemente Day will be observed when the Pirates host the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park.
Roberto Clemente Jr. was just 7 when his father died, but he has no shortage of memories of his Hall of Fame dad leading his Pittsburgh Pirates to victory.
In particular he recalls when the Pirates honored Roberto Sr. at Roberto Clemente Night on July 24, 1970, and more than 43,000 people showed up at Three Rivers Stadium to pay tribute. Clemente didn’t disappoint, collecting two hits and a walk in four plate appearances and making two diving catches from his spot in right field.
“That was the first time I saw Dad cry,” Roberto Jr. said earlier this week. “People came in from Puerto Rico with gifts for him – they were there to honor him and that really hit him. He was a humble person – he was overwhelmed with emotion. And he cried.”
But it was off the field where Clemente Sr. made the biggest impression on his oldest son, one of three he had with his wife, Vera.
“I have so many great memories of him being home,” the younger Clemente said. “He was a renaissance man. He loved music. I remember him playing the harmonica and the organ. We had an organ in the living room and he’d hear a song, then go to the organ and sit there until he got the whole song down. He couldn’t read music but he’d play by ear. He was a perfectionist in terms of getting things done.”
Roberto Sr. also enjoyed working with ceramics, creating numerous pieces of art at his home in Puerto Rico. “He would go through the whole process and then the painting,” he said. “He had so many molds made for outside the house. He enjoyed creating things. He was an unbelievable artist.”
Other documentaries highlighting Clemente’s life and accomplishments have been made over the years since his death. But the new “Clemente” documentary, directed by David Altrogge and featuring – among others – Robinson/Kennedy favorite son Michael Keaton – is the first one that heavily involved the Clemente family.
That involvement, Clemente Jr. said, is what makes this one different.
“This time we were hands-on in terms of decision-making and how the story would go,” said Roberto Jr., who received an executive producer credit on the film along with his brothers Luis Roberto and Enrique Roberto. “We had a seat at the table on this one.”
Clemente Jr. said the filmmakers had so much material to sort through that plenty ended up on the cutting room floor. But he plans to utilize some of that – or at least the stories contained therein – in a new podcast he hopes to put together.
Clemente Jr. said he views the documentary as a “great call to action for us to reflect on where we are today and hopefully become better human beings and be of impact.”
“This man lived here 38 years and the impact that he still has on our society is tremendous.”
Clemente Jr. said he hopes those who see the documentary will consider the ways they can emulate what his father did “in terms of caring for other people and being mindful and being present to what’s happening around you. And being of help to someone.”
The younger Clemente said the foundation’s support for the Roberto Clemente Fund at UPMC is particularly meaningful because the older Clemente had a relationship with Children’s Hospital dating back to his playing days. Even on that night in 1970 when the Pirates honored him, he requested that all monetary gifts made in his name go to Children’s Hospital.
The newest fund, which the foundation refers to as “Bridging Hope,” will be used to support international pediatric patients, particularly those from Puerto Rico and Latin America, with travel, housing and daily expenses while they are receiving treatment at Children’s Hospital.
“The piece with Children’s Hospital is an important one,” Clemente Jr. said. “We know a lot of families internationally who come here because Pittsburgh is a mecca for medical technology and innovation. The world really looks to us to send their patients who need specific treatment, and Puerto Rico is one of the places that looks to Children’s Hospital for its specialties.
“Families who come here are here for the long term. It’s not just three weeks or a month – for some it’s a minimum of a year. That creates a burden on these families. We decided this fund would help alleviate the burdens for these families who are coming to Pittsburgh to have their children being taken care of.”
Clemente Jr. also has been working on another project that will come to fruition Monday – the first Spanish-language television broadcast of a Pirates game.
“I’m really excited,” he said. “It’s double special for me. The fact that it’s Roberto Clemente Day makes it special, but for me, this is something I’ve been advocating for the last six years.”
Clemente Jr. said he’s been encouraging the Pirates to understand the value of having Spanish-language broadcasts because it will help them connect and have a voice in the local Latino community.
The broadcast will be available on SportsNet Pittsburgh’s SNP+ and the SNP360 app, alongside the English broadcast on SNP. MLB.com also will livestream the game for national and international audiences, including residents of Puerto Rico.
Clemente Jr. will be doing play-by-play for a portion of Monday’s broadcast — “El día de Roberto Clemente: Los Piratas en español.” Three-time All-Star and Puerto Rican native Carlos Baerga will provide color commentary. They will be joined over Zoom by Clemente Award winners Sammy Sosa, Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltrán, Edgar Martinez and Albert Pujols.
Locally, residents will be able to dive into the life of the great Clemente via the new feature-length documentary, which covers his life from childhood to his untimely death. In addition to Keaton, the film features Rita Moreno, Francisco Lindor, Richard Linklater, Bob Costas, Tom Morello and Yadier Mollina.
Aaron Stubna, who owns the Parkway Theater & Film Lounge along with his wife Jackie – and also serves as mixologist behind the bar — said he wasn’t quite 2 years old when Clemente died, so he never got to see the Hall of Fame right fielder perform in person.
But Stubna did inherit his uncle’s 1960s-era baseball card collection, which included The Great One.
“I would bring my Roberto Clemente cards to school to show off,” he recalled. “I left a few of them in my pocket and my mother washed them. It still makes me sick to this day.
“I’d have to dig them up, but I believe I saved those ruined baseball cards.”
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