This lot closes on May 22nd, 2021 at 10:00 PM EDT for initial bids.

Legendary hitter and Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente signed this Wilson “Circuito Superior, Baseball Afficiando De Puerto Rico” baseball on Christmas Day, 1972, just a few days before he tragically passed away in a plane crash en route to bringing supplies to an earthquake-ravaged Nicaragua. Clemente, who entered the league in 1955 playing right field for the Pittsburgh Pirates, played all of his 18 seasons with the team and earned 15 All-Star selections and won two World Series championships while wearing the yellow and black. Clemente batted .300 in an astonishing 13 seasons and was a four-time NL batting champion. Clemente earned the NL MVP Award in 1966 and was named the World Series MVP in 1971. A remarkable fielder, Clemente earned 12 consecutive Gold Glove Awards from 1961-1972. Clemente was the first MLB player of Latin American and Caribbean descent to win a World Series as a starting player, the first to receive an NL MVP Award, and the first to be named a World Series MVP. A devout Catholic, Clemente was involved in numerous charities that aided Latin American and Caribbean countries during his offseasons from baseball, tragically died on December 31st, 1972 after the plane he chartered to bring supplies to Nicaragua after a devastating earthquake crashed in the Atlantic Ocean shortly after takeoff from his native Puerto Rico. Clemente was enshrined in Cooperstown in 1973, the first Caribbean and Latin American to gain entry into the hallowed Hall of Fame. The Commissioner’s Award for sportsmanship and community involvement was renamed the Roberto Clemente Award in his honor.

This Wilson “Circuito Superior, Baseball Afficiando De Puerto Rico” baseball was signed and inscribed by late Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente. The baseball features a “WILSON MADE IN U.S.A HORSEHIDE COVER” stamped in black on the east panel. “A1010 CUSHIONED CORK CENTER” is stamped on the west panel. “Circuito Superior, Baseball Afficiando De Puerto Rico” is stamped in black on the opposing sweet spot of the baseball. Clemente signed and inscribed “With Love” in Spanish with a blue ballpoint pen on the sweet spot of the baseball. An additional Clemente stamped signature is on the north panel of the baseball in black ink. The ball itself exhibits a pleasing light even tone with factory fresh manufacturers stampings. The inscription “12/25/72” inscribed by an unknown hand in blue ink on the south panel. The signatures and inscriptions are bold and is an extremely strong and visually pleasing example, which is without question one of the better surviving Clemente single-signed baseballs and comes with an LOA from PSA/DNA (AH00746) who graded Clemente’s signature a NM-MT 8.

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