Thursday, July 08, 2010
By Dave Zuchowski, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/?m=1
Roberto Clemente, the first Latin American baseball player to win the National League's Most Valuable Player Award (1966) and the first to be admitted into the Baseball Hall of Fame (1973), is remembered as one of the sport's greatest athletes.
But a Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibit now at California University of Pennsylvania through Aug. 24 also honors his work as a humanitarian (link to official site below).
With his canon for a throwing arm and lightning speed on the base paths, Clemente was not only an outstanding ball player, but a man who also won the hearts of millions of fans through his humanitarian efforts. He died in a plane crash on Dec. 31, 1972.
Decades later, "I receive mail from fans of different ages," said his widow, Vera, according to a quotation from the exhibit. "They use his name for babies and some send me the birth certificate to sign. And it really doesn't stop. Every year. United States. Latin America. Europe."
"Beyond Baseball: The Life of Roberto Clemente" has already been to ten venues including the Slugger Museum in Louisville, Ky., and will go on to the Little League Museum in Williamsport, among other places. However, Cal U's Mandarino Library Gallery is the exhibit's only stop in Western Pennsylvania.
As a special adjunct to the Cal U exhibit, Mrs. Clemente, along with her son, Luis, will visit the campus July 28 and address the audience at 7 p.m. at Steele Hall Mainstage Theatre. The event is free and open to the public.
"It's a rare treat for Cal U to have her and Luis here for the exhibit," said Tim Buchanan, executive director of special initiatives. "On the evening of the talk, not only will attendees have a chance to hear Mrs. Clemente speak, they'll also be able to have their photo taken and placed on a baseball card and have another photo taken with one of the silver bats Roberto received for winning one of his three batting titles."
"Clemente!" by Willie Perdomo and Bryan Collier.
Before the talk, visitors can walk through the exhibit on the third floor gallery of the library. Developed by the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico and organized by the Smithsonian Institution, the exhibit includes more than 100 artifacts on loan from the Roberto Clemente Museum in Pittsburgh as well as items loaned by private collectors.
On entering the gallery, visitors will see banners in both English and Spanish that outline Clemente's philanthropic efforts and background, then move on to his career, including the early years when some people still resisted the idea of Latin Americans playing major league baseball. In the background, visitors will hear former Pirates broadcaster Bob Prince announcing the 1965 All-Star Game in Bloomington, Minn.
Along with a home team dugout bench and home plate from Three Rivers Stadium, visitors will also see Clemente's unsigned 1956 contract for $7,000 with the Pirates.
"Clemente resisted signing the contract because he was asking for $10,000 that year," Mr. Buchanan said. "Eventually, he settled for $8,500."
Visitors will also be able to view a baseball signed by Clemente, a Wheaties box with Clemente's photo on the front panel and a blown-up black-and-white photo of him exchanging his baseball bat for an Army rifle when he joined the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves in 1958.
One of the first to visit the exhibit was Rosellen Salopek of Hopwood and her grandaughters, Jackie, 10, and Marilynn, 7, of Brownsville.
"I got to meet Roberto in Florida in 1962 and even got to take my photo with him," Mrs. Salopek said. "At home, I have his autograph and lots of Clemente memorabilia, but I could spend an entire day here at the exhibit."
Details: 724-938-5244.
Related: http://www.robertoclemente.si.edu/
Dave Zuchowski, freelance: suburbanliving@post-gazette.com.
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