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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.
Building the Set
December 28, 2007 from Dad's eBay purchases - Card #314
I've already mentioned this in an earlier post, but the way my Dad and I finished the set was somewhat anti-climatic but nevertheless a joyful memory. Leading up to the Christmas of 2007, my Dad (with the help of my Mom) scoured eBay and other online baseball card stores for the remaining 29 cards we needed to complete the set. Throughout the weeks and months leading up to the holidays, he knew we had completed the set but he kept it quiet, wanting to surprise me on Christmas morning. I have no idea, and I'll never know, what the true last card was that he acquired that finished off the set. And I have no record, nor was he able to tell me, how much they had paid for any of these final 29 cards, including the Clemente card.
On Christmas morning 2007, my Dad ended up in the hospital and it was only when he was discharged 3 days later that we celebrated Christmas together and officially completed our 1956 Topps set. Among the "big" cards in that final haul were the cards of Clemente, Monte Irvin (#194), Whitey Ford (#240), Pee Wee Reese (#260) and the Checklist covering Series 1 and 3 (#341). I'll need to tell more of this story in a future post covering one of the other final 29 cards.
The Card
I spent some time trying to figure out the location of the action shot based on the advertising against the outfield wall. This is the kind of trivia that would be immediately evident to a kid looking at this baseball card back in 1956, but sitting here 63 years later and I was stumped. I ruled out Forbes Field since pictures I found from the Pirates' former home showed a blank right field wall. A search for vintage ballparks from 1956 turned up this photo from Ebbetts Field, and the mystery was solved!Clemente is making his catch against the Esquire Boot Polish sign, with the green edge of the letter "M" from the Gem Razor Blade sign making a cameo along the left side of his card.
This is Clemente's second year card, as his rookie card appears in the 1955 Topps set. The card's back creatively depicts his "draft" from the Brooklyn Dodgers and their top minor league team, the Montreal Royals, to the Pirates prior to the 1955 season. He's got to be the best Rule 5 draft pick in the history of the game.Clemente is one of five players born in Puerto Rico to appear in the 1956 Topps set, along with Ruben Gomez (#9), Jose Santiago (#59), Luis Arroyo (#64) and Vic Power (#67).
Phillies Connection
The late great Bob Lemke created a custom card back in 2013 for Roberto Clemente, Jr., who played in 35 games for the Gulf Coast League Phillies in 1984. The younger Clemente hit .167 (16 for 96) that season, and played for two more seasons in the South Atlantic League for Gastonia (unaffiliated) and Charleston (in the Padres organization).
1956 Season
Clemente was 21 in 1956, entering his second full season with the Pirates. His talents were still developing and he hit .311 with 7 home runs and 60 RBIs. Only the Cubs kept the Pirates out of the National League basement, as manager Bobby Bragan's team finished with a record of 66-88. Clemente's outfield partners that season were Lee Walls in left and Bill Virdon (#170) in center.
His SABR biography notes that Clemente was a free swinger in 1956, drawing only 13 walks and at one point going 50 games without drawing a base on balls. Those 13 walks would prove to be a career low.
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First Mainstream Card: 1955 Topps #164
First Topps Card: 1955 Topps #164
Last Topps Card (as a player): 1973 Topps #50
Most Recent Topps Card (post-career): 2001 Topps #784
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2019 Topps - 8 different insert cards
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (23): 1955-1973, 1975, 1987, 1998, 2001
2,081 - Clemente non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/10/19.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
National Baseball Hall of Fame
SABR
The Trading Card Database
In some cases, the first and last cards listed above are subjective and chosen by me if multiple cards were released within the same year. Most recent mainstream card may also be subjective and does not include extremely low serial numbered cards, buybacks or cut autograph cards.
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Order Collected: #329 Lou Berberet - Washington Nationals / #61 Bill Skowron - New York Yankees
