Goodbye Clemente

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October 11, 1972 a young man was working at the United Dairy Farmers in Harrison, Ohio to earn spending and tuition money.  A devout baseball fan, he lamented that he had to work all day, missing game five of the NLCS series between the Pittsburgh Pirates and his Cincinnati Reds.

The series was tied and 25 miles away the event was about to unfold at Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium with the series tied two games apiece, this game would determine who would represent the National League in the 1972 World Series.

He couldn't even watch it on TV because worse yet, he had an eight hour day in Harrison, Ohio to be followed by a seven p.m. to midnight shift at the store in Mt. Airy.  He could only follow on radio with Al Michaels and Joe Nuxhall calling the action.

But he had to work.  He didn't have a ticket anyway.  He couldn't afford one.

At 1:30 the game was two hours away.  All he could do was his job.

Yet the phone rang.  His father, who made a living tending bar at Wiggins Tavern downtown where the Westin Hotel is now, was on the line.

"Gar, I have a ticket for you," his father said using his nickname.  "Can you get down here to pick it up?  A customer left it with me.  He couldn't use it."

"I have to work until four," the yonng man replied. "Then I have to be in Mt. Airy by seven."

"Call your boss," his father said.  "I'm sure she would let you go. The game will be over long before seven."

The young man dialed Marie Gray, the store manager.  "My dad has a ticket for the game today."

'I'll be right down," Marie said.  "I wouldn't want you to miss that."

The excited young man sped to downtown Cincinnati, parking in the underground garage at Cincinnati's Fountain Square, across the street from Wiggin's Tavern.

There Richard Schatz handed his oldest son the ticket," Bring back a winner,"

The game started at that Wednesday afternoon around 2:00 p.m. The young man made his way to the "green seats", the plaza level boxes.

A sellout crowd was in full voice as Reds' starter Don Gullet took the mound.

The first hit of the game came on a two-out single by Hall of Fame outfielder, Robeto Clemente.  Clemente had recently collected his 3,000th career hit prior to the playoffs.

Steve Blass, who is currently one of the Pirates' broadcasters, started for Pittsburgh.


The Pirates held a 3-2 lead going into the ninth inning. Cesar Geronimo hit a solo home run for the Reds in the fifth inning but the bats went quiet against Blass and Ramon Hernandez, the crowd followed suit.

Johnny Bench was facing Pirate reliever, Dave Giusti.

Bench hit the first pitch to rightfield, one of the few times he hit the ball that way. The radio rang throughout Reds' country with now celebrity broadcaster Al Michaels call.

"A fly ball to right. Back goes Clemente. It's a home run," Michaels painted the picture with his words.

The young man by himself rose to his feet next to a couple he didn't know, who appeared to be in their fourties. They were embracing the woman kissed the young man as if they were close friends. The crowd exploded. No one realized that the great Roberto Clemente was playing in his last game.

The Reds weren't finished. Hall of Famer, Tony Perez, singled. An little known outfielder, George Foster, pinch ran for Perez. Denis Menke singled with Foster moving to second. Geronimo just missed his second home run with a fly ball that Clemente caught. Even with Clemente's famously strong arm, Foster advanced to third. Hal McRae pinch hit for reliever Clay Carroll against new pitcher Bob Moose.

Moose reached back to put extra on his pitch to McRae. The ball bounced short of the plate and past Sanguillen. Foster raced home with the National League pennant on his back, touching off a wild celebration that spilled over into the downtown area.

The young man jumped, hugged and kissed every woman in his section, high fived every male. He celebrated all the way to his car, watching people mob sidewalks and streets. He noted it was nearly 4:00. There was plenty of time to drive six miles north to the United Dairy Farmers on the corner of Colerain and Kirby.

He never made it. The crowd wasn't leaving. No one was getting in or out of downtown until very late that night. The young man had another boss to call. She understood as she was cheering with customers inside the store.

The Reds went on to play the Oakland Athletics in the World Series but lost in seven games.
It was on New Year's day two months later that the news interrupted the 1973 Rose Bowl.  Ohio State and Heisman Trophy winner, Archie Griffen, playing USC.  The news shattered the spirit of the game.  Roberto Clemente died in a plane crash while flying relief supplies to earthquake victims in Nicauragua.