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By Jarrod Prugar
For the Mirror
A look around PNG Field on any given night can show the most popular jersey is not one of a current player or even a current Pirate, it's of Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente.
Tonight, Clemente's No. 21 will be retired by the Altoona Curve in a pregame ceremony that will feature Clemente's son and grandson, Roberto Clemente, Jr. and Roberto Clemente, III. It will also feature Duane Rieder, founder and curator of the Clemente Museum located in Pittsburgh.
"Even around Altoona, anything we do involving Roberto Clemente is very well received, but you see people here just wearing Roberto Clemente jerseys every night at the park," Curve director of promotions and marketing Mike Kessling said. "What's really cool is you still have a lot of people that when they were kids saw Roberto play, and they have a personal connection with him."
That connection has forever endeared Clemente to not only Pirates fans, but baseball fans worldwide. It helped lead Altoona to add Clemente's No. 21 alongside Adam Hyzdu as the only numbers retired in the Curve's 25-year history. It's also an honor not given by many teams throughout Minor League Baseball.
"You'll notice we've only retired one in 25 years, so you've got to do something pretty spectacular when you're in the minor leagues, for the most part to be able to make that happen there," Curve general manager Nate Bowen said.
Despite never playing in Altoona or knowing the Curve's existence, Clemente's play on the field and his legacy off the field made the decision to retire his jersey well warranted. The meaning of the jersey retirement also goes far beyond the number that will be placed 21 feet high on the light standard in right field.
"The Curve are making this attempt to do something and to shine some light on retiring the No. 21," Rieder said. "It's awesome and it'll get everybody talking about Clemente."
As the founder and curator of the Clemente Museum, Rieder knows a thing or two about Clemente and has actively been trying to encourage the No. 21 to be retired across all of baseball much like Jackie Robinson's No. 42.
"For about 25 years now I've been trying to lobby the players to stop wearing the No. 21 because it's not like Major League Baseball is going to do it," Rieder said. "So I'm so happy when the Phillies called us. We've gone out and done it with the show. I love what the Curve are doing by retiring the number."
Robinson's number was retired because of him breaking the color barrier and while Clemente was the first Latino baseball player to do many things in Major League Baseball, Rieder's reasoning for wanting the number retired goes beyond his play on the field.
"I know if Jackie Robinson was here today he would want to retire the No. 21," Rieder said. "I want the No. 21 to be retired because Roberto Clemente died in a plane crash on New Year's Eve of 1972 helping earthquake victims. We are not asking to retire it because he was the first Latino in the Hall of Fame or the first Latino MVP of a World Series, none of those other firsts. We're just doing it because he gave up his life helping other people."
For as good of a player as Clemente was, he was an even better human being his humanitarian efforts and losing his life tragically while helping people show just that. What also shows that is even 51 years after his death, his legacy continues to grow.
"It's just the caliber of the type of player and person Clemente was that his legacy, I think, is as strong now as it was when he played, if not more," Kessling said. "I think that resonates with a lot of people that transcends just baseball. I think a lot of people see him as kind of an example of how to be as a person."