Clemente, Roberto

Clemente, Roberto (Walker)

(1934–72) baseball player; born in Carolina, Puerto Rico. During his 18-year career with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1955–72), he compiled a lifetime batting average of .317 and was considered baseball's premier defensive outfielder. After he obtained his 3,000th hit in the last game of the 1972 season, his life was tragically cut short when an airplane loaded with supplies for earthquake victims in Managua, Nicaragua, crashed off the Puerto Rican coast. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1973.