In 1960, the Pittsburgh Pirates were no longer
the laughing stock of baseball.
Pittsburgh Pirates are champions
of the National League.
[Announcer:] Roberto Clemente,
one of the outstanding baseball players...
That year, Clemente led the team in runs batted in,
was second in home runs and game-winning hits
and led the league in outfield assists.
By 1960,
he is an all-star player in the National League.
He is becoming a real threat to opponents.
He might not be recognized by that by the national media,
but on the baseball diamond.
Clearly, his opponents recognize Roberto Clemente as rising star.
For the first time in 33 years, the Pirates
found themselves playing in the World Series.
Unluckily, they had to face the New York Yankees:
winner of five titles in the past decade
and the team packed with superstars
such as Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra and Whitey Ford.
The 1960 series was David and Goliath.
The Yankees were the franchise of professional sport,
winning more titles than any team in any sport.
The Pittsburgh Pirates came into the World Series
as massive underdogs.
They have a very good team,
but no one had really heard of the Pirates players.
Helped by some timely hitting from Clemente
and his outfield play,
the Pirates managed to win three of the first six games.
Despite being outscored by the powerful Yankees
46 to 17.
The seventh and deciding game would be played in Pittsburgh,
where only the most diehard Bucs fans
gave the home team much of a chance.
In the bottom of the ninth,
David and Goliath were tied nine to nine.
As Pittsburgh held its collective breath,
Pirate second baseman Bill Mazeroski came to the plate.
When Mazeroski reached home, Clemente was there celebrating one of the greatest upsets in baseball history.
Proud of his contribution
to the team's success.
Once off the field,
he expected to make a quick exit and catch a plane to Puerto Rico,
but he hadn't counted on the scene
outside the clubhouse.
"There's Clemente," someone shouted
and the crowd surged forward.
It took him an hour to make his way through.
After years of feeling himself an outsider,
he had won them over.
The fans of Pittsburgh, he said,
had made it all worthwhile.
Finally, back in San Juan at the airport,
Clemente received a greeting befitting a returning hero.
Proud Puerto Ricans had followed
the series closely on the radio and in the papers.
A sign in the crowd said what everyone felt
about their triumphant native son.
He had barely touched ground
when the crowd scooped him up and carried him away.
He was the hero of the island.
He was like a god.
The pride that Puerto Ricans felt
over what he had managed
to accomplish in baseball
was incredible.