| Statue of Roberto Clemente | |
|---|---|
 Clemente's statue outside PNC Park | |
| Artist | Susan Wagner |
| Year | 1994 |
| Medium | Bronze sculpture |
| Subject | Roberto Clemente |
| Location | PNC Park Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| 40°26′48.5″N80°0′14.2″W / 40.446806°N 80.003944°W | |
In 1994, the Pittsburgh Pirates unveiled a 12-foot statue of Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder Roberto Clemente, just before the 1994 Major League Baseball All-Star Game which was hosted by the Pirates in Three Rivers Stadium. [1]
The statue was created by Susan Wagner and depicts Clemente dropping his bat and running out of the batter's box. It was funded completely by donations made by Pirates fans. [1]
The base of the statue is made from black granite and stainless steel, with a baseball diamond set in the center and glass blocks which represent first, second and third base. Underneath each glass block is soil from Puerto Rico, Clemente's birthplace, and from Forbes Field and Three Rivers Stadium, former home ballparks for the Pittsburgh Pirates and where Clemente played his entire MLB career. [2]
Around the diamond are fifteen inscriptions set in steel which run counter-clockwise from home plate to third base, listing Clemente's career highlights. According to the Pirates, a space was left intentionally blank for a 16th inscription which remains empty as "a reflection of the incomplete circle of Roberto Clemente's life." [2]
The statue was moved to its current location in PNC Park in 2001, and stands outside the park's centerfield gate. [2]
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Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker was a Puerto Rican professional baseball player who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, primarily as a right fielder. After his early and sudden death, the National Baseball Hall of Fame changed its rules so that a player who had been dead for at least six months would be eligible for entry. In 1973, Clemente was posthumously inducted, becoming the first Caribbean and the first Latin-American player to be honored in the Hall of Fame.
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In 2001, the Pittsburgh Pirates unveiled a 12-foot statue of Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder Willie Stargell, just before the opening of PNC Park. It was created by sculptor Susan Wagner who also created the statue of Stargell's ex-teammates Roberto Clemente and Bill Mazeroski.
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