‘Roberto Clemente Way’ Heading to Philly, Sen. Tartaglione Reports

HARRISBURG, June 17, 2014 – A hero to millions of baseball fans and Latinos, state Sen. Christine Tartaglione said today she is pleased the Pennsylvania Senate has approved a bill to make a section of West Erie Avenue in Philly, “Roberto Clemente Way.”

Clemente played Major League baseball for 18 years with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He died on Dec. 31, 1972, while flying to Nicaragua with relief supplies for earthquake victims.

“Roberto Clemente transcended the black and gold baseball uniform he wore for the Pirates,” Tartaglione said following the Senate’s unanimous approval today of House Bill 1831. “He was loved – and continues to be loved, admired and held up as an example of what it means to be a compassionate human being; even where baseball fans root for the Phillies.”

Congress posthumously awarded Clemente its Congressional Gold Medal in 1973, the same year he became the first Latin-born baseball player to be elected to the baseball Hall of Fame.

During his baseball career, Clemente won 12 consecutive golden gloves and won four batting crowns. Despite his success on the field, his top salary as a ball player came in his last year with the Pirates: $150,000.

The Pirate great was flying to Nicaragua to make sure the clothing, food and medical supplies he was delivering were not stolen like previous shipments.

“Roberto Clemente Way will serve as a proud reminder of a man many people still respect and want to be like. We should be as humbled as he would have been on this day. To have his presence in this great neighborhood is a wonderful thing,” Tartaglione said.

Roberto Clemente Way will stretch from North Second Street in Philadelphia to North Front Street.

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