Roberto Clemente picks up Tris Speaker Award
Episode description
On January 29 1971 — In accepting the Tris Speaker Award from Houston sportswriters, Roberto Clemente gives a speech which, apart from being called by many of those in attendance “the best talk any baseball player ever made,” is the source of Clemente’s most famous – if oft misquoted – assertion: “If you have an opportunity to accomplish something that will make things better for someone coming behind you, and you don’t do that, you are wasting your time on this earth.”
A member of the 3,000-hit club, Roberto Clemente was a tremendously proud man who was often misunderstood by the press and his teammates. He was criticized for refusing to play with minor injuries, despite the fact that he won four batting championships. He played on two Pirate World Series winners and became more legendary after his tragic death while delivering supplies to victims of the Nicaraguan earthquake in 1972 than during his playing days.
His tragic death prompted the Hall of Fame's Board of Director's to unanimously wave the customary five year period for induction, opening the door for the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) to hold a special election on Clemente's behalf. By an overwhelming vote of 93%, Clemente became the first player of Latin American descent to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
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