Roberto Clemente: a Champion a “I Am from the Poor People”
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Roberto Clemente: A Champion A “I Am From The Poor People” When Roberto was a child, his parents did not have much money. His father worked in the sugarcane fields. He made four dollars a week. Sometimes he drove his truck to deliver food to neighbors. Many of these neighbors were also poor. Some of them did not even have indoor bathrooms! And sometimes they could not pay for their food. “Don’t worry,” Roberto’s father would tell them. “I will let you pay me later.” Roberto’s mother also worked hard. She would get up in the middle of the night to Roberto grew up in the town of Carolina on the make food to sell. tropical island of Puerto Rico. She also did housework for other people. There were seven children in Roberto’s family. Sometimes there was enough money to buy food “But even the way we used to for everyone. live, we were happy. We would Sometimes there wasn’t. sit down to eat and make jokes Sometimes the family would eat food from the and talk and eat whatever there garden, and fruit from the trees. was. That was something But there was one thing Roberto’s family always wonderful... to grow up with had: people who had to struggle to eat.” Pride. Roberto’s parents taught him that his family was - Roberto Clemente from the Jibaros. Jibaros are the native people of Puerto Rico. Roberto learned that Jibaros worked hard and took care of other people. He was proud of being a Jibaro. He was proud that he could work hard. When he was old enough, he walked a mile every morning to take milk to a neighbor. The neighbor paid him one penny each day. © Copyright 2013 Young Audiences, Inc. All Rights Reserved (rev 1-1-13) Unit 3, A4L Texts, Page 36 Roberto Clemente: A Champion B “I Am From The Poor People” Even after he was rich and famous, Roberto Clemente used to tell everyone, “I am from the poor people.” It was true. When Roberto was growing up in Puerto Rico, his parents did not have much money. His father worked in the sugarcane fields and made four dollars a week. Sometimes his father drove his truck to deliver food to neighbors who lived far from the store. Many of these neighbors were also poor; some did not even have indoor bathrooms. When they could not pay for the food, Roberto’s father let them pay months later, when they had the cash. Roberto grew up in the town of Carolina on the Roberto’s mother also worked hard. She tropical island of Puerto Rico. would get up in the middle of the night to make lunches for the men who worked in the fields. She also did housework for other people. Sometimes Roberto’s parents had enough money to buy food for him and all of his brothers and “But even the way we used to sisters: seven children in all. Sometimes there live, we were happy. We would was not enough money, and the family would eat food from the garden, and fruit from the trees. sit down to eat and make jokes and talk and eat whatever there But there was one thing Roberto’s family always was. That was something had: wonderful... to grow up with Pride. people who had to struggle to eat.” Roberto’s parents taught him that his family was from the Jibaros, the native people of Puerto - Roberto Clemente Rico. Roberto learned that Jibaros worked hard and took care of other people. He was proud of being a Jibaro. When he was old enough, he walked a mile every morning to take milk to a neighbor. The neighbor paid him one penny each day. © Copyright 2013 Young Audiences, Inc. All Rights Reserved (rev 1-1-13) Unit 3, A4L Texts, Page 37 Roberto Clemente: A Champion A Child’s Baseball Dream A Being poor didn’t stop Roberto from loving baseball. He would make bats out of broomsticks. He would make bats out of branches. If he didn’t have a ball, he would make one out of a can. If there were no cans, he would use a rag, tied in a knot. There were many other children in Puerto Rico who also loved baseball. But Roberto almost never stopped thinking about it. He would practice baseball harder than anyone. He would look for other children to play with, Children without money to buy bats and balls even if he was wearing his best clothes. still find ways to play baseball with sticks, rags, His mother once said, “Sometimes I’d dress him or cans. up nice and clean, and he’d come home full of dust and mud!” Once Roberto had a rubber ball. “I would forget to eat because of His mother remembers that Roberto would lie in baseball. And one time my mother bed, and he would throw the ball back and forth started to burn my bat as a against the wall, back and forth. punishment. But I got it out of the “I hope you will become an engineer one day,” fire and saved it.” his mother would tell him. - Roberto Clemente But that was her dream. Baseball was his. © Copyright 2013 Young Audiences, Inc. All Rights Reserved (rev 1-1-13) Unit 3, A4L Texts, Page 38 Roberto Clemente: A Champion A Child’s Baseball Dream B Being poor didn’t stop Roberto from loving baseball. Wooden bats cost too much money, so Roberto would make them out of broomsticks. If there were no broomsticks, he’d make them out of guava branches. If he didn’t have a ball, he would make one out of a can. If there were no cans, he would use a rag, tied in a knot. There were many other children in Puerto Rico who also loved baseball. But Roberto was different because of how much harder he practiced, and how much more often he played the game. Children without money to buy bats and balls “As he grew,” his mother once said, “he would still find ways to play baseball with sticks, rags, look for other children in the barrio to play or cans. with. Sometimes I’d dress him up nice and clean, and he’d come home full of dust and mud!” Once Roberto had a rubber ball. His mother remembers that he would lie in bed, “I would forget to eat because of throwing it back and forth against the wall, back baseball. And one time my mother and forth. started to burn my bat as a punishment. But I got it out of the “I hope you will become an engineer one day,” his mother would tell him. fire and saved it.” But that was her dream. Baseball was his. - Roberto Clemente © Copyright 2013 Young Audiences, Inc. All Rights Reserved (rev 1-1-13) Unit 3, A4L Texts, Page 39 Roberto Clemente: A Champion A The Dream and A Shock: Racism in America In Puerto Rico, no one ever taught Roberto, “You are not as good as other people.” Why would they? He was one of the best players the people there had ever seen. When he was only fourteen he played on a team for a rice company. All the other players were grown men! Another team he played for became the best team in all of Puerto Rico. Soon after that, an American team wanted him to play for them. It was a dream come true. Sometimes even the drinking But when Roberto went to America, he got a shock. fountains in town would have a Back in those days, many white people in America treated sign on them: “Whites Only.” people who were not white very badly. Why? Because of racism. Racism is a foolish belief. People who are racist think that some people are better than other people, just because of their skin color. Sometimes Roberto’s team would go to a restaurant. And sometimes the restaurant owner would say, “Only white people can come inside and eat. The rest of you have to get back on your bus and eat in there.” Sometimes Roberto could not stay in the same hotel as the white players, just because of his skin color. Sometimes he was not even allowed to drink at the same drinking fountains. All of this made Roberto very angry. It was so unfair! His teammates would tell him to keep quiet about it. “Yes it’s unfair, but keep your mouth shut,” they would say. “Or they might send you back to Puerto Rico.” Roberto did not want to give up his dream of American baseball. But racism made him angry, and he could not keep quiet about it. At one of his very first American games, someone yelled mean, racist names. They were yelling at one of Roberto’s teammates, not at him. Still, it made Roberto so mad he yelled right back. © Copyright 2013 Young Audiences, Inc. All Rights Reserved (rev 1-1-13) Unit 3, A4L Texts, Page 40 Roberto Clemente: A Champion B The Dream and A Shock: Racism in America In Puerto Rico, no one ever taught Roberto, “You are not as good as other people.” Why would they? He worked so hard at baseball that when he was only fourteen he went to play on a team for a rice company. Everyone else on that team was a grown man! Soon Roberto was so good at baseball he earned forty dollars a week playing for a professional Puerto Rican team.