star athletes have played an important part in the lives of young children as far back as history remembers sports and its *es. *ry youngster has had at least one * that he worshipped above all others. such idolization is not always etched in stone how*r, and *es have been known to change for many reasons. i was involved in such a change in 1960.my father was an air force * 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 * at old crosley field. i was included as an afterthought and was thrilled at finally being able to see a *g league *. the double header between the hometown reds and the pitt*urgh 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 s*ral 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 *es 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 beli* that it now proudly bore the name roberto clemente in bold black ink. roy face's spot on my * list had just been filled by one of greatest players in the *. clemente played an important part in the pirate's sweep of the double header that day and *ed lead his team to a world series victory over my yankees that october. despite that, he remained one of my greatest *es until his death in a 1972 ai*e 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 *ed find a * had been a bonafide * trying to * 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 *ism12 at its finest.
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