111th Congress, 2nd Session
The Roberto Walker Clemente Congressional Gold Medal
May 14, 1973
On this date, President Richard M. Nixon formally approved P.L. 93–33 (87 Stat. 71), the Roberto Walker Clemente Congressional Gold Medal. As the right fielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Clemente, a native of Puerto Rico, emerged as one of professional baseball’s greatest stars. In his storied 18 seasons with the Pirates, Clemente garnered 3,000 hits, 12 straight Gold Gloves (1961–1972), and the National League’s Most Valuable Player Award in 1966. But he was also celebrated for his selfless humanitarianism. On December 31, 1972, he was killed in an air plane crash off San Juan, Puerto Rico, en route to deliver supplies to victims in earthquake-ravaged Nicaragua. In the House, Representative William Moorhead of Pennsylvania introduced legislation to award Clemente the Congressional Gold Medal posthumously. Representative Wilmer “Vinegar Bend” Mizell of North Carolina, cosponsored the bill. Mizell had pitched against Clemente as a St. Louis Cardinal (holding the career .317 hitter to just .238 in 47 plate appearances) before becoming his teammate in Pittsburgh during the Pirates’ World Series Championship season in 1960. Mizell recalled, “His power hitting, his blazing base-running, his amazing ability as a fielder—all of these are testimony to the fact that he was a complete athlete and a genuine superstar in the game of baseball. This is Roberto Clemente the ball player but the greatest testimonial to how great Roberto Clemente the man was, was the tremendous interest he took in the youth of Puerto Rico.” On March 27, 1973, the House passed the Clemente bill. Later that year, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. In 2002, the Baseball Hall of Fame changed the order of his name to Roberto Clemente Walker to reflect the tradition in many Latino cultures in which a man uses his mother’s maiden name after his surname.
Related Highlight Subjects
Cite this Highlight
Office of History and Preservation, Office of the Clerk, http://clerk.house.gov/art_history/highlights.html?action=view&intID=255, (December 25, 2010).For Additional Information
Office of History and Preservation(202) 226-1300
history@mail.house.gov
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Wilmer “Vinegar Bend” Mizell of North Carolina played 14 years of professional baseball before serving in the House of Representatives.
Collection of U.S. House of Representatives
Teaching Tip
Ceremonies in the House
Ask students to locate highlight dates for three different House ceremonies. Use each of these dates to explain the functions of the House outside of the normal legislative day.
