On Friday October 14, 2011, the PAC Theater held a symposium in honor of Roberto Clemente. The speaker that came and shared his knowledge and past experiences with Clemente was Luis Mayoral. He spoke of his personal relationship with Clemente, having first seen him tying his spikes at a game. Mayoral still specifically remembers the cologne that Clemente used to wear. Later, Mayoral was privileged to actually meet with Clemente at his home, and have a long conversation with him. As the years went by, the two became close friends, allowing Mayoral to have all the information that he shared at the PAC.
Luis Mayoral spoke of how much of a caring and good person Clemente was. While Clemente had pride for his country, he also instilled a pride for the Puerto Ricans that looked up to him. Along with inspiring his own people, Mayoral told us of how Clemente was greatly respectful towards his fans. He always showed love for the youth, which was one inspiration for his Sports Center. Clemente also always had time for fans during the games, never failing to give them attention.
Besides being an icon, Clemente was also greatly involved with helping those less fortunate, specifically earthquake victims of Nicaragua. Clemente spent a good deal of time raising goods to send over to the distraught nation in hopes of helping them to recover. When he heard that the shipments were being taken by the local military and sold to the victims instead, he decided to accompany the next shipment. During this flight, the plane banked too far left and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean; his body was never found.
While Clemente is remembered for his induction into the Hall of Fame, his tragic death, and the game, this was not what he wanted to be remembered for. Clemente wanted to be remembered as a ball player who gave all that he had to give.