It was called "Nicaragua Amiga 72" (Nicaragua Friends 72), the 20th
World Championships of Amateur Baseball. Amateuer teams from around
the world participated in the tournament and the team representing the
island of Puerto Rico was managed by its favorite son "The Great
Roberto Clemente". Fresh off his 18th season with the Pittsburgh
Pirates and after collecting his 3,000th and final hit, Clemente not
only managed the team of his homeland, but he also captivated the
Nicaraguan crowd with his display at the plate and his throws from
right field during practices as the crowd cheered "Clemente, Clemente".
At the conclusions of the championship which ran from November 16 to
December 6, 1972, Roberto Clemente gave away his uniforms as gifts.
The black road jersey was given to the President of the Puerto Rican
League. Tragically, only 25 days after the championship games, on a
mission of mercy back to Nicaragua, Clemente died in a plane crash.
The road jersey was then displayed in the Puerto Rican amateur
baseball offices. It remained there until 2005 when it was moved to
the Puerto Rico Sports Museum in Guaynabo know as "Capital del
Deporte" (Capital of the Sport).
The home white jersey (which has the flag of Puerto Rico proudly on
the front) was given to a radio announcer from Columbia who had
befriended Clemente via the league president. The uniform remained
in Columbia and was at one time loaned to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. The uniform was then sold to the largest collector of Caribbean baseball artifacts who has now consigned it to Lelands.