Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente is considered one of the all-time best right fielders in the history of baseball. Presented is a signed 1971-72 black and white photograph of the Pittsburgh Pirates legend. Clemente was born in Carolina, in Puerto Rico, and he was a track and Field star as a youth, and even an Olympic hopeful in the javelin throw. He decided to concentrate on baseball and gave up track and field, but he credited his javelin throwing to helping him develop his superb right arm, one of the reasons he won an amazing 12 consecutive Gold Glove Awards for his right field play between 1961-72. Clemente became a baseball professional when he signed to play with the Cangrejeros de Santurce of the Puerto Rican Baseball League. The Brooklyn Dodgers signed him to a $10,000 contract for 1954, an amount high enough to make him an official "Bonus Baby" and subject to being drafted by another team if he was not placed on the Major League roster for two seasons. The Brooklyn Club kept Clemente in the minors at Montreal, and he was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates, for whom he played for his entire 18-year Major League career. 

With Pittsburgh, Clemente batted a lifetime .317 with four NL Batting Championships. He was a 2-time World Series champion, in 1960 and 1971. Clemente reached exactly 3,000 hits in his last regular season game in 1972. On New Year's Eve, December 31, 1972, Clemente was flying in a plane he had chartered, a plane filled with emergency supplies for the victims of an enormous earthquake in Nicaragua. The plane crashed into the sea not far from San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Roberto lost his life. The Baseball Hall of Fame waiting requirements for admission were waived, and Clemente was inducted posthumously into the HOF in 1972.

The offered signed photo measures 4x5.5". Clemente signed the front of the photo in dark blue or black, ballpoint ink. The manufacturer of the photo is unknown. The photo exhibits some spotting and staining, with a diagonal fold and crinkling. The is also a tiny, paper indentation. The offering comes with both a JSA LOA and PSA LOA for the Clemente signature (Cert. Number YY48937).

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