My father was an Air Force master sergeant1 stationed at a radar2 station in Bellefontaine, Ohio. The Cincinnati Reds offered discount seating to military personnel in uniform and my father decided3 to take a group of airman to a game at old Crosley Field. I was included as an afterthought and was thrilled at finally being able to see a big league game. The double header between the hometown Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates was going to be a highlight in my relatively4 short life.
Although I was an avid5 New York Yankee fan one of my favorite baseball players, Roy Face was a star relief pitcher6 for the Pirates and I was hoping to get his autograph. My father bought me a brand new baseball just in case. I could hardly contain myself on the drive to Cincinnati.
We arrived at the stadium a few minutes before the players were due to take the field and I lined up with several other youngsters at the entrance to the Pirate locker7 room. As the players filed out to enter the runway to the dugout, I looked anxiously for Roy Face. I finally saw him coming and in my best manners stepped up and asked him for his autograph. He calmly ignored me and proceeded down the runway. I was stunned8! One of my favorite heroes had brushed me off without the slightest acknowledgement at all. I stood there pondering what to do next when a large arm appeared around my shoulders and a hand took the ball from my grasp. I looked up to see a beaming smile beneath a Pirate hat and a large 2l on the jersey9. The man handed me the ball with a wink10 and headed onto the field. I looked down at the ball and could not believe that it now proudly bore the name ROBERTO CLEMENTE in bold black ink. Roy Face s spot on my hero list had just been filled by one of greatest players in the game. Clemente played an important part in the Pirate s sweep of the double header that day and helped lead his team to a World Series victory over my Yankees that October. Despite that, he remained one of my greatest heroes until his death in a 1972 airplane crash while flying relief supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua. By this time I had followed my father into the Air force and was stationed in Southeast Asia. When I learned of Clemente s death I could only marvel11 that the man who had helped find a hero had been a bonafide hero trying to help an entire nation.
Only die-hard fans will remember who Roy Face was, but children who were not born when he died can tell you all about Roberto Clemente. That is heroism12 at its finest.
