Clemente: The Passion And Grace Of Baseball's Last Hero Part 14

Ask him how he felt: Ints. Tony Bartirome, Bob Veale, Steve Bla.s.s, Myron Cope, Roy McHugh, Harding Peterson, Les Banos. The training room, Bartirome recalled, "was like a playroom. Everybody'd come in there, not for treatment, just to screw around."

One nagging concern: Flight time calculated from Pirates 1968 schedule and 1968 national flight records; ints. Vera Clemente, Bob Veale, Jose Pagn, Juan Pizarro.

He bought his cologne: Int. Les Banos.

When a sales clerk met: Sam Nover, "A Conversation with RC," 1972; int. Vera Clemente.

Al Oliver, a black teammate: Int. Al Oliver.

What Clemente admired: Sam Nover, "A Conversation with RC," 1972.

The Clementes spent twenty-two days: Int. Vera Clemente "Love and hate": Pittsburgh Press, April 14, 1969; ints. Roy McHugh, Juliet Schor; Bill Mazeroski, Sport, November 1971.

No National League pitcher wanted: Int. Ferguson Jenkins, Tony Taylor; Bill Curry and George Plimpton, One More July, 1978.

One other event that season: Ints. Vera Clemente, Matino Clemente; Bill Christine, Roberto, 1973.

The most significant event in baseball: Minutes of Executive Board Meeting, Major League Baseball Players a.s.sociation, Sheraton Hotel, San Juan, Puerto Rico, December 1314, 1969; int. d.i.c.k Moss; San Juan Star, December 1215, 1969; New York Times, December 1415, 1969.

Listening in on the conversation: Int. Enrique Zorrilla.

"I don't know why they invited me": Int. Nancy Golding.

In Pittsburgh two days later: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh Press, July 1518, 1970.

July 24 was Roberto Clemente night: Account of night drawn from ints. Vera Clemente, Luis Clemente, Matino Clemente, Roy McHugh, Al Oliver, Richie Hebner, Howard Fineman, Ramiro Martnez; Martnez's tape-recording of speeches, July 24, 1970; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh Press, July 2325, 1970.

11: EL DA MS GRANDE.

In Baltimore on the eve: Ints. Vera Clemente, Carolyn Rauch.

"I'm never sorry": San Francisco Chronicle, Baltimore Sun, Chicago Tribune, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, New York Times, October 59, 1971.

"Anger, for Roberto Clemente": Roy McHugh, Pittsburgh Press, October 15, 1971; int. Roy McHugh.

Russo and Youse returned: Baltimore Sun, October 9, 1971.

Game 1, on the Sat.u.r.day afternoon: Game account drawn from ints. Steve Bla.s.s, Al Oliver, Richie Hebner, Nellie Briles, Jose Pagn, Roy McHugh, Joe L. Brown, Tony Bartirome, Harding Peterson, Earl Weaver, Paul Blair, Vera Clemente; Baltimore Sun, Was.h.i.+ngton Post, New York Times, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh Press, Chicago Tribune, October 10, 1971.

No bad clams at the restaurant: Ints. Vera Clemente, Carolyn Rauch.

"I had the ball and he was sliding": Int. Richie Hebner.

the baseball writers had all quit: David Condon, Chicago Tribune, Arthur Daley, New York Times, Jim Murray, Los Angeles Times, October 1112, 1971.

Clemente could not sleep: Ints. Vera Clemente, Steve Bla.s.s.

"look what we got": Ints. Tony Bartirome, Steve Bla.s.s.

Cuellar hurried his throw: Int. Earl Weaver.

"Guess I missed a sign": Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, New York Times, Baltimore Sun, October 13, 1971.

It only lasted an inning: The best account of the all-black Pirate lineup is by Bruce Markesun, a researcher at the National Baseball Hall of Fame, on the baseballguru.com Web site.

Rice called it foul: Int. Don Leppert; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Baltimore Sun, Was.h.i.+ngton Post, New York Times, October 14, 1971.

The fans could not see it: Int. Nellie Briles; Pittsburgh Press, Baltimore Sun, San Francisco Chronicle, October 15, 1971.

"The rest of us were just players": Int. Steve Bla.s.s.

The prince was a pip: Newsday, New York Times, New York Daily News, Pittsburgh Press, Baltimore Sun, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, October 15, 1971.

Clemente could not have performed better: Ints. Earl Weaver, Paul Blair, Roy McHugh, Tony Bartirome, Jose Pagn; Baltimore Sun, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 16, 1971.

As the taxi hurtled north: Ken Nigro, Baltimore Sun, October 17, 1971.

Bla.s.s was even more effective: Ints. Steve Bla.s.s, Earl Weaver, Richie Hebner, Nellie Briles, Les Banos, Jose Pagn, Joe L. Brown, Tony Bartirome; Los Angeles Times, Baltimore Sun, Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Chicago Tribune, New York Times, October 17, 1971.

"En el da ms grande": Ramiro Martnez tape collection. (In two closets in his condominium in the San Juan suburbs, Martnez maintains the world's largest archive of audio and videotapes of Clemente. Many of them were recorded by Martnez in his capacity as a radio announcer. He was a Zelig-like character who seemed to always be at Clemente's side whenever something important was happening.) At the White House: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Baltimore Sun; Nixon tapes, National Archives at College Park. Nixon-Rogers exchange uncovered and transcribed by James C. Warren of the Chicago Tribune, a leading expert on the voluminous Nixon tapes.

Three days later, on the afternoon of October 20: Ramiro Martnez archive; New York Times, October 21, 1971; Roger Kahn; ints. Stuart Speiser, Vera Clemente.

12: TIP OF THE CAP.

Momen was a fanatic about crabs: Int. Roberto Clemente Jr.

They visited Caracas: Clemente family collection, travel doc.u.ments: Int. Vera Clemente.

"I think the World Series": Ramiro Martnez tape collection.

Clemente chose to live: Ints. Richie Hebner, Fernando Gonzlez, Al Oliver.

Also hanging around was Roy Blount Jr.: C. R. Ways, New York Times Magazine, April 9, 1972.

In his letter to Vera: Duane Rieder collection, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The letter was handwritten on Pirate City stationery.

the 1972 team was even looser: Ints. Steve Bla.s.s, Tony Bartirome, Les Banos, Richie Hebner, Al Oliver, Nellie Briles.

"Hey, Roberto," Sanguillen called out: Int. Fernando Gonzlez.

"We stayed and we talked": Int. Carolyn Rauch.

Barely half that many: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh Press; ints. Richie Hebner, Tony Bartirome, Steve Bla.s.s, Matino Clemente, Les Banos, Nellie Briles; Tom Seaver, Recollection at Hall of Fame gathering at National Geographic Society, Was.h.i.+ngton, D.C., February 2003.

The next morning at eleven: Account of Clemente's three-thousandth hit drawn from ints. Ann Ra.n.a.lli King, Steve Bla.s.s, Richie Hebner, Nellie Briles, Tony Bartirome, Les Banos, Roy McHugh, Chuck Goggin, Bill Nunn Jr.; El Nueva Da, (Luis Ramos); Pittsburgh Press; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 30, 1971 and October 1, 1971; Ramiro Martnez tape collection (Felo Martnez broadcasts). In explaining why Clemente was her favorite player, Ann Ra.n.a.lli, who later married the sportswriter Peter King, said: "You never felt like he was playing a media game. He always seemed to be his own person, on and off the field, which was admirable. Pittsburgh was not a great baseball town, nor particularly supportive of the team. I happened to be a fan and had more enthusiasm and he was the centerpiece of the games."

the surest evidence that he intended: Int. Rex Bradley, Hillerich & Bradsby bat archives.

the night before he left: Int. Al Oliver.

13: TEMBLOR.

Three days before Christmas: Nixon Presidential Papers, National Archives, Nicaragua file, Telegram, December 22, 1972. A stamp next to the White House logo says: Amba.s.sador/ Hand-Carry/President. The telegram is addressed to Mr. Howard Hughes/Intercontinental/ Hotel/Managua, Nicaragua. It was copied to R. Woods/R. Price/J. Andrews/R. Ziegler/H. Klein.

Holiday revelers were out strolling: Account of first moments of earthquake drawn from int. Anthony Jilek; Nixon Presidential Papers, Nicaragua file, National Archives; Pedro Chamorro, Richter 7 (translation, Patricia Rengal); Was.h.i.+ngton Post, New York Times, December 24, 1972; Nicholas Daniloff, UPI, Was.h.i.+ngton, D.C., December 23, 1972.

The Clementes, at their house: Ints. Vera Clemente, Ramiro Martnez, Osvaldo Gil.

The disaster relief effort was underway: Southern Command News, Quarry Heights, Ca.n.a.l Zone, January 5, 1973; Situation Report, Staff Communications Division, Department of the Army, Nicaragua, National Archives at College Park.

American soldiers arriving: Int. Gary Czabot.

the attention of President Nixon: President Nixon's Daily Diary, Nixon Presidential Papers, National Archives, Was.h.i.+ngton, D.C. (NARA), December 23, 1972. The diary entries: 9:35-The President had breakfast; 11:07 The President talked with his senior White House physician, Major General Walter Tkach; 12:53 The President talked long distance with his a.s.sistant for National Security Affairs, Henry A. Kissinger, in Was.h.i.+ngton, D.C.; 1:05 The President had lunch. The President watched the Oakland RaidersPittsburgh Steelers football game on television.

Fourth and ten: Ints. Myron Cope, Bill Nunn Jr., Les Banos; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh Press, December 24, 1971.

"I don't know what": Ints. Osvaldo Gil, Vera Clemente; Ramiro Martnez archive.

President Nixon took breakfast at eight forty-five: President Nixon's Daily Diary, Nixon Presidential Papers, Nicaragua file, NARA; Memorandum for Al Haig, Subject: Nicaragua Earthquake, National Security Council, NARA, December 24, 1972.

In San Juan, Clemente and Ruth Fernndez: Ints. Vera Clemente, Osvaldo Gil, Ramiro Martnez; Ramiro Martnez tape collection.

Pedro Chamorro circled Managua: Pedro Chamorro, Richter 7.

Clemente spent the day: Ints. Vera Clemente, Osvaldo Gil; Ramiro Martnez tape collection.

Howard Hughes, after refueling stops: Times of London, New York Times, Miami Herald, AP, December 2426, 1971.

the greed of Somoza: Ints. Osvaldo Gil, Vera Clemente, Ramiro Martnez.

Bianca, then only twenty-two: Kurt Jacobsen, "A Conversation with Bianca Jagger, Human Rights Advocate," Logos Journal, Fall 2003.

Once the plane touched down: Ints. Dr. Hart Achenbach, Dr. Frederick Zugibe; Hart Achenbach, M.D., Tales of the Curious Traveler.

President Nixon placed a call: Int. Maurice J. Williams; President Nixon's Daily Diary, Nixon Presidential Papers, NARA.

Come with me: Ints. Les Banos, Orlando Cepeda, Chuck Goggin, Vera Clemente, Osvaldo Gil.

14: c.o.c.kROACH CORNER.

you could buy anything for a song: Ints. Mike Pangia, Jon Hoffman, Stuart Speiser.

As practice runs go: Pangia memo, Pangia archive, Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. Department of Justice.

From the moment he came: National Transportation Safety Board Report, Douglas DC-7CF Accident, Aircraft Accident File Contents, San Juan, Puerto Rico, December 31, 1972.

Couric was such a stickler: Int. Bev Couric (wife of William Couric); National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Aircraft Accident File.

Rivera went on the offensive: NTSB, Alexander P. b.u.t.terfield, FAA, vs. Arthur S. Rivera, Docket SE-1399.

The battle of wills: Ints. Stuart Speiser, Jon Hoffman, Mike Pangia; Speiser Brief (50 pp.), U.S. District Court; Lawsuit (p. 382); FAA Report of Investigation, May 11, 1970, Compliance and Security Office.

Usto E. Schulz: Schulz trial testimony: Vera Christina Zabala de Clemente et al., Plaintiff, vs. McDonnell Douglas Corp. et al., and other consolidated cases, Defendants. Transcript of trial heard before the Honorable Juan R. Torrulella, U.S. District Judge sitting in San Juan, Puerto Rico, November 1975.

that came to be known: Department of Transportation, FAA, Southern Region, September 25, 1972, Pangia archive.

Rivera enlisted two mechanics: NTSB Air Accident File, depositions of Rafael Delgado-Cintron and Francisco Matias.

the Clementes were consumed: Ints. Vera Clemente, Osvaldo Gil; Air Accident File, Delgado-Cintron deposition. U.S. District Court trial testimony, Vera Zabala de Clemente, November 1975.

The Clementes were met at the dock: Int. Vera Clemente; San Juan Star, December 30, 1972.

Roberto placed a call: Ints. Carolyn Rauch, Carol Brezovec (Ba.s.s), Vera Clemente.

Back at the airport: NTSB Air Accident File, Delgado-Cintron, Matias depositions.

15: DECEMBER 31.

Vera Clemente stood in the kitchen: Int. Vera Clemente; lyrics of song by Trio Vegabajeo.

Jerry Hill, the pilot Arthur River recruited: Transcript of crash trial, testimony Delgado-Cintron, Matias, Vera Clemente; NTSB Air Accident File depositions.

The aircraft was already full: cargo manifest filed with FAA, San Juan, NTSB Air Accident File, Pangia archive.

Clemente was at home: Ints. Vera Clemente, Cristobal Coln; testimony, transcript, Vera Clemente, United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, civil numbers 77873, 77973, 99973, 100073, 109673.

At 5:30 P.M., according to FAA records: Air Accident File, History of Flight; Pangia Memo, Pangia archive; transcript, George E. Mattern testimony, U.S. District Court.

Clemente handed him: NTSB, Statement of Interview with Rafael Delgado-Cintron. The mechanic was likely the last person outside the plane to see Clemente alive. "The stairs were already on the way [out] but he put it back and said good-bye to everybody and . . . Mr. Clemente asked for a favor to call his wife and gave me the telephone [number]. Did you see where he was seated? Yes, he was seated on the bunk forward of the cargo."

"San Juan tower, Douglas": NTSB Air Accident File, Transcript of Air Traffic Control, December 31, 1972.

The plane didn't seem: NTSB Air Accident File, Statement of Witness-Juan Reyes, Gilberto Quiles, Antonio Ros, Rafael Delgado-Cintron, Dennis A. McHale, Gary Cleaveland.

The Rauches were delighted: Ints. Carolyn Rauch, Carol Brezovec (Ba.s.s), Vera Clemente.

Matino woke his father: Int. Matino Clemente, Carolyn Rauch, Carol Brezovec (Ba.s.s), Vera Clemente; testimony transcript, George E. Mattern, United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, civil numbers 77873, 77973, 99973, 100073, 109673.

"It was quiet and sad": Reaction to news of the crash drawn from Ints. Orlando Cepeda, Osvaldo Gil, Cristobal Coln, Juan Pizarro, Enrique Zorrilla, Diana Zorrilla, Eduardo Valero, Luis Olmo, Vic Power, Chuck Goggin, Steve Bla.s.s, Joe L. Brown, Jose Pagn, Ann Ra.n.a.lli, Richard Santry, Nancy Golding, Bev Couric, Vera Clemente, Luis Clemente.

16: OUT OF THE SEA.

a sequence of twenty telephone calls: Facility Accident Notification Record, January 1, 1973, Aircraft Ident N500AENTSB Air Accident File; Department of Transportation, U.S. Coast Guard Telecommunications Center, Sitrep 1, January 1, 1973.

"That night on which Roberto Clemente": Elliott Castro, Home: A Celebration of Roberto Clemente's Spirit and Pa.s.sion, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico.

Vera wavered between: Ints. Vera Clemente, Osvaldo Gil, Carolyn Rauch.