This lot is closed. Bidding ended on 12/11/2023.
The late Roberto Clemente was a Hall of Fame right fielder for the Pittsburgh Pirate whose life ended tragically on Dec. 31, 1972, at the age of 38. A great humanitarian, Clemente died in a plane crash while en route to deliver aid and supplies to victims of a deadly earthquake in Nicaragua. The overloaded plane crashed into the ocean and his remains were never found. Prior to his death, Clemente had just completed his 18th season in Major League Baseball and was one of the game’s greatest players and off-the-field ambassadors. Not only had he helped lead the Pirates to a pair of World Series titles (1960 and ‘71), he posted incredible personal stats along the way: 15-time All-Star; 12-time Gold Glove Award winner; four-time N.L. batting champion; and N.L. MVP in 1966. He collected exactly 3,000 hits during his prolific career and had a lifetime batting average of .317. Following his untimely death, the Baseball Hall of Fame waived its mandatory five-year waiting period and inducted Clemente posthumously in 1973. This lot offers a game-used glove Clemente wore during the 1962 MLB season, a campaign in which he batted .312 and earned his second consecutive Gold Glove Award after posting a fielding percentage of .973 with 270 putouts and 19 assists. The Rawlings outfielder’s glove (model TG P) stretches 12” from base to finger tips and is from the 1962 labeling period. Constructed of Rawlings top grade “Heart of the Hide” tanned Horween leather, the glove is bound with rawhide laces and nylon stitching. Its telling features include a “Snugger Adjustment” wrist strap, a pro-style sixth finger “Trap-Eze” web, an “Ed-U-Cated” heel with seven eyelist, and a “Dual Step Down Palm.” Clemente’s uniform number (“21”) can be found in faded black marker on the back of the glove at the base of the thumb sleeve. The red silk “Rawlings” manufacturer’s wrist label on the wrist shows signs of fraying in the top right corner and throughout the white embroidered “Rawlings” logo. An interesting note from the team at PSA/DNA is this observation regarding the fading number 21 on the back of the thumb sleeve: “Though faded the number still conveys the familiar style we see on other game-used items of Clemente. Therefore, it’s our opinion the number ‘21’ was placed on the glove by Clemente himself.” This glove is properly tagged, was presented to us as game-used and shows excellent wear. Accompanied by an LOA from PSA/DNA for the use and an 11X14” color photo of Clemente wearing this style of glove. The PSA letter states in part that..."The glove was (sourced) from the manager of the Pittsburgh YMCA where Clemente and several of the Pirates players worked out. Clemente glove is among the number of items he received from the players."