Channel 11 looks back on the legacy of Roberto Clemente

PITTSBURGH — Fifty years after losing Roberto Clemente, Channel 11 is looking back at his legacy.

Saturday marks half a century since his death.

His legacy stretches from grandparents who watched him play, to their grandchildren who wear his jersey and to Clemente’s grandchild who is carrying his name.

“It is amazing. I mean, every single year we have more schools that want to name their schools after him, more leagues, more fields and streets all over their country that now has more monuments, more statues, then MLK and and, and JFK combined,” Roberto Clemente Jr. said. “And so for me, I understand but I truly believe is the way he utilized his platform of baseball. And that has really kind of overshadowed being a great humanitarian to who he was as a baseball player, which I believe that’s how his legacy has grown for half a century because of the connection of being a humanitarian who really was an anchor that played baseball.”

“I gave a tour once to these two women that were going off to Machu Picchu. And they each bought a ‘21′ hat and they climbed to the top. They get up there and there’s a guy standing there and he sees them with their ‘21′ hats. And he goes, ‘Roberto Clemente!’ And they were like, ‘yeah, how do you know?’” said Duane Rieder.

“Yeah, he’s bigger. In his passing, I think then had he gone along with with a life that would have been wonderful. I would have chosen him to have that life. But the way he died, will will never go away,” said Steve Blass, one of Clemente’s former teammates. “Every year there’s a documentary, there’s a lengthy article written, there’s a playground named after him. Kids are still calling me with projects. ‘Can you tell me about Clemente?’ I don’t know if many can match the legacy of Roberto Clemente.”

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