I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1787 
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint commemorative coins in 
recognition of the life and legacy of Roberto Clemente. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 3, 2025 
Mr. ESPAILLAT (for himself and Mr. MEUSER) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint commemo-
rative coins in recognition of the life and legacy of Ro-
berto Clemente. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Roberto Clemente 
Commemorative Coin Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
(1) Roberto Clemente Walker was born on Au-
gust 18, 1934, to Don Melchor Clemente and Luisa 
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Walker in Barrio San Anto´n, Carolina, Puerto Rico, 
as the youngest of 7 children. 
(2) Clemente excelled in athletics as a young-
ster and, at the age of 17, was playing for the 
Santurce Cangrejeros ‘‘Crabbers’’ of the Puerto 
Rican Baseball League. 
(3) In 1954, the Pittsburgh Pirates selected 
Clemente in the first round of the Major League 
Baseball Rule 5 draft. 
(4) Pirates center fielder Earl Smith wore jer-
sey number 21 until he parted ways with the team 
in April 1955, and Clemente wore number 13 until 
then. 
(5) In 1955, Clemente made his Major League 
debut as he went on to play for the Pittsburgh Pi-
rates, starting as a right fielder. 
(6) When the team traveled to Richmond, Vir-
ginia, for games or Florida for spring training, 
Clemente encountered Jim Crow laws for the first 
time when the Black players had to stay at a sepa-
rate, inferior hotel and were refused the option to 
dine with their White counterparts. 
(7) Clemente was known for being a proud 
Afro-Latino and protested the discrimination that 
Latin and Black ball players encountered. 
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(8) Clemente was known for defending the 
rights of Black and Brown people, both on the field 
and in the streets. 
(9) After the assassination of Martin Luther 
King, Jr., in 1968, Clemente and his teammates re-
fused to play until after the funerals and even wrote 
a public statement showing their respect for Dr. 
King. 
(10) Clemente became a union leader in the in-
cipient Major League Baseball Players Association 
and defended players’ rights to demand better work-
ing conditions and benefits. 
(11) In every city where the Pirates played, 
Clemente visited sick children in hospitals. 
(12) Clemente established training clinics, pro-
viding baseball lessons and fun for boys and girls in 
Pittsburgh, his home island of Puerto Rico, and 
throughout Latin America. 
(13) In 1958, Clemente enlisted in the United 
States Marine Corps Reserve after the 1958 season 
and spent 6 months on active duty at Parris Island, 
South Carolina, and Camp LeJeune, North Caro-
lina. 
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(14) Clemente served until 1964 and was in-
ducted into the Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame 
in 2003. 
(15) By the end of his career, Clemente had 
joined the exclusive 3,000-hit club, was selected to 
15 All-Star teams, and won 12 Gold Gloves, 2 World 
Series, and a National League MVP award. 
(16) In Clemente’s 18 seasons with Pittsburgh 
he won 4 batting titles, hit 240 home runs, and 
posted a lifetime .317 batting average. 
(17) In late 1972, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake 
ravaged Managua, Nicaragua, and killed 5,000 peo-
ple. 
(18) In his philanthropic spirit, Clemente sent 
shipments of humanitarian aid to the country. 
(19) After learning that 3 previous shipments 
had been diverted by corrupt Somoza Government 
officials, Clemente decided to accompany one of the 
aid shipments. 
(20) The four-engine DC–7 plane Clemente 
chartered for a flight on New Year’s Eve crashed in 
the Atlantic Ocean immediately after takeoff from 
the coast of Isla Verde, Puerto Rico. 
(21) On December 31, 1972, Clemente died in 
the plane crash at the age of 38 years young. 
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