Roberto Clemente’s Hall of Fame career began on a sunny Sunday at Forbes Field — 68 years ago, April 17, 1955 —in front of what the New York Times described as a “shirt-sleeved crowd of 20,499.”

The next day, the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph reported on Albert Einstein’s death at the age of 76, the city of Pittsburgh receiving praise for getting rid of the smog and two more losses by the Pittsburgh Pirates, who were in the midst of losing eight in a row to start the season.

On April 17, 1955, 20-year-old rookie Roberto Clemente made his major league debut at Forbes Field. pic.twitter.com/p29T0KMZBO

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) April 17, 2023

Temperatures were in the mid-70s, a great day to play two. The Pirates prepared to meet the Brooklyn Dodgers in a doubleheader, a popular fixture of the day that largely has disappeared from modern-day baseball.

Clemente, a rookie outfielder four months shy of his 21st birthday, walked to home plate in the bottom of the first inning. Manager Fred Haney had penciled Clemente into what would become his accustomed third spot in the Pirates’ batting order.

There was nobody on base. Center fielder Earl Smith flied out to right field, and second baseman Gene Freese’s line drive sent Hall of Fame center fielder Duke Snider to the Forbes Field ivy. Snider somehow made the catch without crashing into the batting practice cage that was stored in deep center field, clearly in the field of play.

Now, it was Clemente’s turn.

After taking a pitch out of the strike zone from Dodgers starter Johnny Podres, Clemente beat out an infield single to shortstop Pee Wee Reese, one of five Hall of Famers in the Dodgers’ starting lineup. It was the first of Clemente’s 3,000 hits of an 18-season career.

Clemente scored on Frank Thomas’ triple, and the Pirates went ahead 2-0 when Reese booted Sid Gordon’s ground ball.

The rest of the game was a disaster for the otherwise unremarkable Pirates, who lost 10-3. Clemente grounded out three times in a row to second baseman Jim Gilliam, but he also robbed Gilliam of extra bases by leaping against the right-field wall to grab a high line drive.

Podres, the winning pitcher in Game 7 of that season’s World Series against the New York Yankees, threw 133 pitches and lasted all nine innings. Third baseman Jackie Robinson had two of the Dodgers’ 15 hits, and Snider homered off relief pitcher Nellie King, later a Pirates broadcaster with Bob Prince and Duquesne University’s golf coach and sports information director.

In the second game of the doubleheader, Haney made Clemente his center fielder and leadoff hitter.

Pirates fans may not remember Clemente in those positions — and for good reason. He was a game’s leadoff hitter in only 160 of 2,300 starts and played just 53 in center field. Later in his career, he played two games at second base and one at third base, according to baseballreference.com.

The Pirates right fielder was Felipe Montemayor, who was 0 for 4 and played only eight more games there before retiring and leaving that famous patch of Oakland grass to Clemente. Ronnie Kline, a native of nearby Callery in Butler County, was the losing pitcher, and the Dodgers left town on a six-game winning streak.

Clemente recorded the first of his 440 career doubles in the second game and added another infield single in a 3-2 loss. He scored runs in both games, kick-starting his career total of 1,416.

The Pirates’ record that year was 60-94, and Haney left after the season to manage the Milwaukee Braves, winning the World Series in 1957.

The day after his debut, Clemente hit an inside-the-park home run against the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds. He played in 124 games as a rookie and hit .255. It was the second-lowest batting average of his career and one of only five seasons he was under .300.

If you’re interested, a ticket stub from the doubleheader is up for bid through Saturday in the Lelands Spring Classic Auction. Current high bid for the ticket — a second tier reserved seat that sold for $2.20 — is $75,451, according to Lelands.

---

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)

---