National LCLAA 2008 Membership Convention

15. Resolution in Support of Retiring Roberto Clemente's #21

From Major League Baseball

Whereas: baseball legend and humanitarian Roberto Clemente who was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico on August 18,

1934, played major league baseball for eighteen seasons (1955 ­ 1972) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and died December 31,

1972, on an airplane while carrying supplies destined for earthquake victims in Nicaragua, and

Whereas: elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, only the second player for whom the mandatory five (5) year waiting

period was waived ­ Lou Gehrig was the other, collected 3000 hits, won four batting titles ­ leading the National League

batting average, had a lifetime batting average of .317, voted "National League Most Valuable Player" in 1966, was the

"Most Valuable Player" in the 1971 World Series, hit safely ­ at least one hit ­ in all 14 World Series games in which he

played (1960 & 1971), and

Whereas: playing in the Mid-west steel town of Pittsburgh in the 1950's and 1960's, he faced and overcame the double

minority status of race and language, during spring training refused to accept the indignity of "Jim Crow" segregation in

the American South, and would not accept food from "White Only" restaurants, had a passion for young fans, and was a

superstar athlete who always gave back to the community in which he played, and

Whereas: following the 1971 World Series, in which he was named "Most Valuable Player", he insisted upon speaking

first in his native language (Spanish) on national television an act which infused a sense of dignity and self-esteem for

Hispanics throughout the Western Hemisphere, even those who knew little or nothing of the game of baseball, was the

undisputed leader on the field of the 1971 World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates, a diverse international collection of gifted

and talented athletes, and

Whereas: Roberto Clemente disregarding his own safety, flew in the rear of a cargo plane to bring vital supplies to

earthquake victims because his physical presence would ensure that the supplies would reach those in need, this act of

sacrifice was not a staged photo-op or a public relations stunt arranged for the cameras, but an outpouring of compassion

and humanitarian concern, his act was an act of genuine heroism, not "check-book"

compassion, which we can admire, respect and emulate, Roberto Clemente's humanitarian concern stretched beyond the

island of Puerto Rico and his legacy can be embraced around the World, and

Whereas: Roberto Clemente's life and death were heroic in his concern for others, courage in the face of danger, and the

nobility and pride which he exuded ­ America is in need of such heroes, for every Latino player whether superstar or

minor league hopeful stands on the shoulders of Roberto Clemente and owes to him a debt which can never be repaid, for

after thirty-five (35) years after his death, those who never saw him play, or have little knowledge of baseball, revere his

memory, and honor his humanitarian ideals, finding the name of Roberto Clemente at baseball fields and athletic

complexes, but schools, libraries, parks, and highways bear his name in the United States and internationally, as a fitting

memorial to a great athlete and an even greater human being, and