JULY 19TH AUCTION
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 7/20/2013
One of the game’s most beloved player, Roberto Clemente not only established himself as a superstar on the field but off it as well. His humanitarian missions helped countless people throughout Latin America and it was on one such mission in December, 1972 that he met his end in a tragic plane crash. Through his 18 seasons with the Pirates he was a pillar of excellence, batting a cumulative .317, surpassing the .350 mark three times and leading the NL in batting four times. During the 1971 season, from which this bat dates, Clemente hit .341 and took his Pirates to the World Series. Led by the bat of Number 21, the underdog Pirates beat the Baltimore Orioles in a hard-fought 7 games. Clemente hit Baltimore pitching at a .414 clip and hit a solo homer in the Pirates 2-1 win in Game 7. Clemente’s Hillerich & Bradsby model U1 bat exhibits excellent game use with stitch impressions, cleat imprints and several ball marks with black ink transfers. His famous number “21” is written in black marker on both the knob and barrel end. The bat’s weight “38 1/2” written in pencil is still visible on the knob. PSA/DNA sticker number 1B05337 is affixed to the barrel end. Letter of Authenticity from PSA/DNA.