III

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. RES. 362

Recognizing and honoring Roberto Clemente as a great humanitarian and

an athlete of unfathomable skill.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

SEPTEMBER 28 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 22), 2000

Mr. SANTORUM (for himself and Mr. SPECTER) submitted the following

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

RESOLUTION

Recognizing and honoring Roberto Clemente as a great

humanitarian and an athlete of unfathomable skill.

Whereas Roberto Clemente’s athletic legacy has been honored

by the city of Pittsburgh with a 14-foot bronze statue

and the naming of a bridge over the Allegheny River located just outside the centerfield gate of the new baseball

stadium in Pittsburgh;

Whereas Roberto Clemente led the Pittsburgh Pirates to

World Championship titles in 1960 and 1971, winning

the Series Most Valuable Player Award in 1971 when he

batted .414 with two home runs against Baltimore;

Whereas during his 18-year career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Roberto Clemente won four National League batting crowns, the 1966 National League Most Valuable
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•SRES 362 IS

Player award, and ended his career with a .317 lifetime

average, 240 homers, and 1,305 runs batted in;

Whereas on September 30, 1972, Roberto Clemente became

the 11th Major League Baseball player to record 3,000

hits with a 4th inning double off New York Mets lefthander Jon Matlack;

Whereas Roberto Clemente was one of the first Latin American baseball players in the Major Leagues, and as such

he faced language barriers and racial segregation

throughout his career;

Whereas Roberto Clemente worked tirelessly to improve professional baseball’s understanding of the unique challenges faced by young Latin American baseball players

thrust into a new culture and language;

Whereas in August of 1973, Roberto Clemente became just

the second player to have the mandatory five-year waiting

period waived as he was inducted posthumously into the

National Baseball Hall of Fame;

Whereas in 1984, Roberto Clemente became the second baseball player to be honored for his athletic and philanthropic achievements with an appearance on a United

States postage stamp;

Whereas Roberto Clemente devoted himself to improving the

lives of inner city youth in Puerto Rico and throughout

the United States, putting into action his belief that

sport could be a stepping stone to a better life for underprivileged youth;

Whereas Roberto Clemente tragically died in an airplane

crash on December 31, 1972 as he accompanied relief

supplies to Nicaragua to aid the victims of the devastating 1972 Managua earthquake;
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•SRES 362 IS

Whereas Roberto Clemente’s humanitarian legacy continues

to this day, embodied by the Roberto Clemente Sports

City in Puerto Rico, which creates an environment for

the development of the human spirit though sport, and

promotes community, education, and awareness of human

rights: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that—

2 (1) Roberto Clemente was a great humanitarian

3 and an athlete of unfathomable skill;

4 (2) Roberto Clemente should be honored for his

5 contributions to the betterment of society; and,

6 (3) all Americans should honor Roberto

7 Clemente’s legacy every day through humanitarian

8 and philanthropic efforts toward their fellow man.

Æ