When you think 'America' what is the sport which springs to mind ?
Baseball , of course !
What do you know about this game ? How do you play it ?
GO TO
>Linkhttp://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball
Now let's find out a bit more about one of the greatest players of all time , Roberto Clemente !
His name doesn't sound very American to me but there again when you look at the French football team how many of them are called Martin or Dupont ?
Have a look at the British cricket team and you will find the same phenomenon .... So let's go !
His Untimely End
On New Year's Eve 1972, Roberto Clemente, a thirty-seven-year-old baseball player for the Pittsburgh Pirates, boarded a DC-7 loaded with relief supplies for earthquake victims in Managua, Nicaragua. A native of Puerto Rico, Clemente had established a special relief fund for his devastated neighbors. Shortly after takeoff the plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, a mile off the Puerto Rican coast. Clemente's body was never found. Roberto Clemente's untimely death brought an end to a spectacular career. In his eighteen seasons with the Pirates, he led the team to two World Series championships, won four National League batting titles, received the Most Valuable Player award, and earned twelve Gold Gloves. In his final turn at bat for the 1972 season, Clemente made his 3,000th career hit -- an achievement that had been reached by only ten major league players before him. Clemente's talent and inimitable style drew legions of fans, but as this American Experience production reveals, he was more than an exceptional baseball player. He was also a committed humanitarian who challenged racial discrimination and worked for social justice. Through interviews with relatives, childhood friends, former teammates and journalists, this biography will tell the inspiring and tragic story of Roberto Clemente, focusing on him as both an athlete and a man, whose career sheds light on larger issues of immigration, civil rights and cultural change.
Watch this movie to find out more :
Introduction 1/9
Growing up in Puerto Rico 2/9
Segregation , Jim Crow and Lone Latino Player 3/9
The 1960 World Series 4/9 . The rising star , the hero and The Pirates V The Yankies !
Something to Prove 5/9 . All hell would break loose . He would run like a horse . The role model . More Latinos now in the U.S.A. , in the teams too !
GO TO
">Linkhttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/clemente/program/
In a hurry to settle down 6/9 . Haunted by his past , magnetic but simple . Falling in love with Vera , a neighbourhood girl . A family man with three sons .
Invincible 7/9 Batting in the Civil Rights Movement , an acquaintance of M.L.K. .... Captain of the Pirates he leads the team to victory in 1971 .
A Passion for helping Others 8/9
Clemente's Legacy 9/9 Great and gorgeous to watch right up to the horrible abrupt end !
The next time you watch a sport , any old one will do , think about the man , or the woman , behind the game . He or she might just have something special to offer , besides their sporting talent , as did Roberto Clemente . Keep it in mind !
