Today marks 50 years since the death of JFK. 2013 also marks 40 years since the death of another man of true greatness. On Jan. 1 of 1973, baseball fans were saddened by the news of the unexpected death of Pittsburgh Pirates great Roberto Clemente. Clemente was a great outfielder, but that was only a small portion of his greatness. He was a hardnosed competitor with the heart of a giant. Never forgetting the poverty that he had known growing up in Puerto Rico, he made countless mercy missions to Latin America and the Caribbean to help those who were in need. In December of 1972, a major earthquake hit the country of Nicaragua, devastating the lives of the impoverished people living there. True to form, Clemente began collecting relief supplies for the earthquake victims. When he learned that the corrupt government there was stealing relief supplies being flown into that country, Clemente decided to go with the supplies to see that they got to the people for whom they were meant. As it turned out, the plane was overloaded, and it went down off the coast of Puerto Rico soon after it took off. Clementes remains were never recovered. His death so much reflected the reality if his life. He died serving others.
Posted on: Fri, 22 Nov 2013 22:51:10 +0000
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