Roberto Clemente was one of the greatest baseball players of all time, playing 18 seasons in Major League Baseball, reaching 3,000 hits, winning twelve Gold Glove Awards, four National League batting titles, and two World Series championships. However, he wasn’t just a baseball player. He was a humanitarian dedicated to helping people and making the world a better place. Clemente played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and he is honored right here in Pittsburgh at The Clemente Museum in Lawrenceville. The museum holds many valuable memorabilia as a reminder of who Roberto Clemente was. 

The museum building was built in the late 1800’s and was originally a fire station. It was used up until 1972, then the firefighters vacated the building and it was left abandoned.

In 1994, the Lawrenceville Development Corporation sold the building for just $1 to museum founder, Duane Rieder, in an attempt to revitalize Lawrenceville. Rieder fixed up the building to use it as his photography studio.

“At the time, Lawrenceville wasn’t the vibrant neighborhood it is today, and the building was in severe despair – broken windows, pest infestations, and structural issues. Despite these challenges, Duane and his family spent two decades meticulously restoring the building, preserving its original features,” said community outreach director at Clemente Museum, Zoe Fishter.

During the time he was restoring the building, Rieder was also working on a Roberto Clemente calendar for the 1994 All-Star game at Three Rivers Stadium. Rieder visited Clemente’s family home in his home town, San Anton, Carolina, Puerto Rico. Clemente’s wife, Vera Clemente was helping Rieder out with the calendar, and a friendship blossomed between the two. 

Due to the salty air and rainy weather conditions in Puerto Rico, Clemente photos and memorabilia were getting ruined, so Rieder offered to take them back to Pittsburgh and store them in his photography studio. After the calendar was finished, the family officially named Rieder the Clemente family archivist. From then on, Rieder regularly went to Puerto Rico to visit with Vera and always came back with more memorabilia to store in his studio.

Rieder says he never had plans to turn his studio into a museum, it was just supposed to be a small archive to help the family store memories.

However, years later in 2006, Vera and the Clemente family were coming to Pittsburgh for the All-Star game, and wanted to have a celebration. They asked Rieder if they could use his space for a party, and he was delighted to have them. When they all got there, Rieder had set all the memorabilia up on display for Clemente’s family and friends. Soon after, a museum was formed.

In July of 2006, the museum started giving tours to the public under the name of “The Clemente Collection at Engine House 25.” The museum kept growing from there, eventually turning into The Clemente Museum and a nonprofit in 2008.

The museum houses many valuable pieces of Clemente’s life from both baseball, and his personal life as a humanitarian. A big attraction is the “Angel Wings” photo of Clemente from Spring training in 1960, when the Pirates used to go to Fort Myers, Florida. The Angel Wings photo was taken by Ed Salamoney in the early morning. Someone found the negatives in a dumpster when the Pittsburgh Post and Gazette Times were merging, and brought them in. Rieder took a chance and bought them without being able to see exactly what was on them. When the pictures were developed, Rieder noticed the clouds behind Clemente looked like angel wings as he jumped up to catch the ball. Now, one of the most iconic pictures of Clemente hangs on the museum wall. 

The museum also houses six of the twelve Gold Glove awards that Clemente won, and Zoe Fishter, outreach director, says they know where three of the missing six are, and are trying to work out some deals to at least get them on a loan. They also house many of Clemente’s bats, and the home plate from the 1971 World Series game.

The home plate display is really cool because it includes the real home plate from the game, Clemente’s cleats, and the original dirt from Three Rivers Stadium.

“The Home Plate had several different owners and was traded all around the country before someone gave it to Duane as a gift for being a good person,” said Fishter.

The museum means a lot to not only the Pittsburgh community and the Clemente family, but people all around the world care deeply about Clemente’s legacy and try to help out the museum. 

The museum features Clemente’s iconic 1972 International Fashions suit. The suit was donated to Rieder by Clemente’s family, but in an auction the family held, it was sold. Pittsburgh Steelers legend and friend of Clemente, Franco Harris, acquired the suit and donated it back to the museum, giving it a permanent home there.

The museum doesn’t only attract Pittsburgh fans, but also many current and former Major League Baseball players have visited, as Clemente is a role model to them. Rieder mentioned how it is not uncommon for a visiting team that’s playing the Pirates to stop in for a tour. Clemente was a huge figure in baseball, and left a lasting impact on many people.

In a glass case, the museum displays a propeller from the plane that Clemente was on on New Year’s Eve in 1972. Clemente was flying down to Puerto Rico in a cargo plane full of emergency relief supplies to help out survivors of a huge earthquake in Nicaragua. His plane crashed into the ocean off the coast of Puerto Rico. 

Even though it is a sad symbol of his passing, the plane propeller is a great reminder of Clemente’s giving personality and his mission to help people.

Clemente was an outstanding baseball player, but he was much more than that. He was humble and giving. He always wanted to help people and make the world a better place.The museum strives to show all aspects of Clemente’s life with a variety of memorabilia and pictures so people can truly appreciate the outstanding person that he was.

”It’s an honor to be able to work at the Clemente Museum and teach future generations about the lasting impact Roberto has made on Puerto Rico, Pittsburgh, and the entire world,” Fishter said. 

If anyone is interested in donating or selling something to the museum, they can reach out with photos and a description of the item at [email protected].