It also serves as a reminder of giving and what the legendary Roberto Clemente meant not just to the game of baseball, but to the lives of people all over the world.

Friday night that legacy grew as the No. 21 was officially retired by the Altoona Curve, ensuring no player will ever wear the number. It also will serve as a reminder of who Clemente was as a player and as a man.

“We are very honored as a family that this great organization had the initiative to retire the number,” Roberto Clemente Jr. said. “It lends for a fantastic opportunity for kids and adults alike that don’t know the story to take a look out in right field and ask the question: Why is that number there?”

The number is there because of the humanitarian Clemente was. He died on New Year’s Eve in 1972 while on a mission to deliver supplies to Nicaragua after an earthquake devastated the nation.

Roberto Clemente III throws out the honorary first pitch Friday at Peoples Natural Gas Field. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

Since then, his legacy has survived the test of time and has grown stronger.

Clemente Jr. said, “Every year, we get even more and more letters of people and organizations that want to name their street, their league, their school, Roberto Clemente. We’re talking 50 years after his death. The legacy is very unique. This man died at 38, and he accomplished a lot in 38 years. It is amazing to me that the legacy is still very, very strong.”

The power of his legacy led Major League Baseball to name Sept. 15, the first day of Hispanic Heritage Month, as Roberto Clemente Day throughout the league. The commonwealth of Pennsylvania has done the same thing.

“He was someone that represented us, all of us,” Clemente Jr. said. “The day he crossed that white line, he took it upon himself to represent all the Latinos, the minority people, and I believe they were represented the right way by his actions and how he played the game but most importantly, how he carried himself.”

On Friday night, Clemente Jr. was joined by his wife and two young sons, Leo and Roberto Clemente III, who threw out the first pitch at the Altoona Curve game. They’re learning about their grandfather through these types of experiences, much like their father did when he was their age.

Leo Roberto Clemente, youngest son of Roberto Clemente Jr. is held by Loco before Friday’s celebration. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

“I take them everywhere because I remember going places with dad and those memories that I have of what he did, how he related to people. They’re still with me,” Clemente Jr. said. “Everything from the clinics, to going to feed people in Puerto Rico, and anywhere that we go, they’re seeing it, they’re living it. I don’t need to have to really say much. I’m teaching them by example.”

That example was led by Clemente and his wife, Vera, who passed away in 2019. She continued philanthropic and humanitarian efforts until her death. She would have been proud to see the moment the number was unveiled prior to Friday’s game, her son said.

“It was an unbelievable moment,” Clemente Jr. said. “I know she was here right now with us, but, you know, it took me back to when we unveiled the

Clemente statue in 1994. Just kind of seeing and just waiting for that moment to see it and it was a pretty cool moment.”

Clemente’s legacy is now immortalized at Peoples Natural Gas Field, 21 feet high on the right field flag pole, a place where people will now be reminded of what that number means to the game of baseball.

Roberto Clemente Jr. and his sons, Leo Roberto (left) and Roberto Clemente III watch a video honoring the great Roberto Clemente on Friday at Peoples Natural Gas Field. The Altoona Curve retired Clemente’s No. 21 in ceremonies before the game. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

“He is revered because of how he played the game. He is the gatekeeper to a prestigious club, which is the 3,000 hit club, but most importantly, is how he carried himself and how he played the game and how people feel about Clemente,” his son said. “How they feel physically, emotionally when they hear the name, it’s a very special thing.”