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WHEREAS, Roberto Clemente Walker was a baseball legend whose strong core values of social justice and compassion marked his life and death; and
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WHEREAS, Roberto Clemente was born August 18, 2934, in Carolina, Puerto Rico. He played 18 seasons for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the National League of Major League Baseball. He broke racial barriers and battled discrimination. During that time, he won 2 World Series Championships, one World Series Most Valuable Player Award, one National League MVP Award, 12 All Star Selections, 12 consecutive Gold Glove Awards, 4 National Batting Titles, 3000 career hits and the only walk-off inside-the-park Grand Slam Home Run in professional baseball history; and,
WHEREAS, posthumously, in 1973, Roberto Clemente was given “The Commissioner’s Award” which is given annually to the Major League Baseball player who “best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual’s contribution to the team”. The Award was renamed “The Roberto Clemente Award”. Following his death, he became the first Latino and the first Puerto Rican to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame; and,
WHEREAS, Roberto Clemente’s legacy and greatness transcendent the baseball diamond. He served six years as a United States Marine. He facilitated and hosted charitable and humanitarian efforts including free baseball clinics for under privileged youth, promoting equality for Latino Americans and delivering significant financial aid to people in Puerto Rico and other Latin American countries. Roberto Clemente was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Presidential Citizens Medal and the Congressional Gold Medal for his civic and charitable contributions; and,
WHEREAS, one December 31, 1972, Roberto Clemente tragically died when a plane he chartered to bring food and relief supplies to earthquake ravaged Nicaragua crashed near Pinones, in Loiza, Puerto Rico. He was 38 years old; and,
WHEREAS, the City of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, renamed the Sixth Street Bridge, the Gateway to the magnificent PNC Park, in memory of Roberto Clemente. The City also erected a statue on the North Shore of Pittsburgh and a Museum named for Roberto Clemente thrives in the Lawrenceville section of Pittsburgh; and,
WHEREAS, Greatness is generational but immortality is timeless.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby recognize and revere the life of Roberto Clemente as a baseball legend and humanitarian; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby urge the Secretary of the United States Department of the Interior to recognize the historical designation of Roberto Clemente’s place of death in Loiza, Puerto Rico, by adding it to the National Register of Historical Places.