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Roberto Walker Clemente
Pittsburgh Pirates
Outfield
Born: August 18, 1934, Carolina, Puerto Rico
Signed: Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent, February 1954
Major League Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates 1955-1972
Died: December 31, 1972, San Juan, Puerto Rico (age 38)
Hall of Fame Induction: 1973
One of the most prolific pure hitters of the 1960s, and a true five-tool talent, Roberto Clemente played his entire 18-year career with the Pirates, leading them to World Series titles in 1960 and 1971. He was a 15-time All-Star, a 12-time Gold Glove winner, the N.L. MVP in 1966 and the World Series MVP in 1971. A four-time batting champ, Clemente joined the exclusive 3,000 hit club in the second to last game he'd ever play on September 30, 1972. At the time, he was the 11th player in baseball history to join the club. A few months later, and less than 10 weeks after the passing of Jackie Robinson, Clemente died in a plane crash off the coast of Puerto Rico while en route to deliver earthquake relief supplies to Nicaragua.
The pride of Puerto Rico, Clemente's legacy lives on through the countless Latino baseball players he's inspired over the past four decades.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1956 Topps blog.
This is one of the handful of cards from the 1965 Topps set I've seen for years at baseball card shows, usually under glass, that I thought I'd never actually add to my collection. It's a wonderfully simple baseball card and I was thrilled to add it to our set.
The Card / Pirates Team Set
Beginning in 1957 and lasting through his appearance in the 1969 set, Topps decided to shorten Clemente's first name to Bob, ignoring his actual preferred name and his Latino heritage. Topps thankfully returned to Roberto beginning with his 1970 card. The back of this card highlights his two batting titles (to date) in 1961 and 1964. He'd win two more batting titles in 1965 and 1967. His three triple game came on September 8, 1958 against the Reds.
Building the Set
May 20, 2021 from Scottsdale, AZ - Card #283
By mid-May, I was down to needing seven cards to complete series two of our 1965 Topps set. Three of them were commons, two of them I considered semi-star cards, and two of them were star cards. Determined to finish the second series before the unofficial start of summer and the approaching Memorial Day weekend, I set out to purchase these final seven cards. This Clemente card came from Scottsdale Baseball Cards in Scottsdale, Arizona for a reasonable price and joining Clemente in the envelope from Arizona was the card of Bill Wakefield (#167).
May 20, 2021 from Scottsdale, AZ - Card #283
By mid-May, I was down to needing seven cards to complete series two of our 1965 Topps set. Three of them were commons, two of them I considered semi-star cards, and two of them were star cards. Determined to finish the second series before the unofficial start of summer and the approaching Memorial Day weekend, I set out to purchase these final seven cards. This Clemente card came from Scottsdale Baseball Cards in Scottsdale, Arizona for a reasonable price and joining Clemente in the envelope from Arizona was the card of Bill Wakefield (#167).
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| 1998 Topps Roberto Clemente Reprints #11 |
I was also grateful for a relatively relaxing May, as we slowly eased into post-vaccination life. The Phillies were back, and our nights were filled with Little League games, baseball practices, piano lessons and tennis lessons.
The Card / Pirates Team Set
Beginning in 1957 and lasting through his appearance in the 1969 set, Topps decided to shorten Clemente's first name to Bob, ignoring his actual preferred name and his Latino heritage. Topps thankfully returned to Roberto beginning with his 1970 card. The back of this card highlights his two batting titles (to date) in 1961 and 1964. He'd win two more batting titles in 1965 and 1967. His three triple game came on September 8, 1958 against the Reds.
I'm fairly certain the first version of this card I owned was from a circa 1980s Dover reprint, carefully separated from a book along its perforated edges. Topps reprinted the card in 1998, included within an insert set reprinting all of Clemente's flagship cards between 1955 and 1973. Clemente, at card #19, is one of 72 players featured within the 1965 Topps Embossed insert set and one of four Pirates in the set. He's also in the harder to find 1965 Topps Transfers insert set.
Clemente was right in the middle of his dominating run of league-leading seasons, winning the batting title for a third time with a .329 average. He was an All-Star Game reserve, with his teammate Willie Stargell (#377) getting the start over him, and he'd win his fifth of 12 Gold Gloves at the end of the season. During a 12-game Pirates winning streak in late May, Clemente batted .458 which ultimately propelled him to the batting title. The starting outfield for most of the season for the third place club was Clemente in right, Bill Virdon (#69) in center and Stargell in left.
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First Mainstream Card: 1955 Topps #164
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (23): 1955-1973, 1975, 1987, 1998, 2001
Most Recent Mainstream Cards: 2021 Topps Heritage The Great One insert set
2,416 - Clemente non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 7/16/21.
Sources:
1956 Topps
