City Council Meeting April 27,2021 Agreed Calendar
RESOLUTION
Honorary Resolution to add Roberto Clemenfe's Place of Death In Lolza, Puerto Rico, to the National Register of Historic Places
WHEREAS, Roberto Clemente Walker was bom in Barrio San Anton in Carolina, Puerto Rico, August 18,1934; and
WHEREAS, Roberto Clemente tragically died in an airplane crash on December 31,1972 as he accompanied relief supplies to Nicaragua to aid the victims of the devastating 1972 Managua earthquake; and
WHEREAS, Roberto excelled at track and field; however, his real love was baseball; and
WHEREAS, Roberto joined the Pittsburgh Pirates In 1955, where he played his entire 18-year Major League Baseball career from 1955 to 1972 and is considered one ofthe finest outfielders to ever play professional baseball; and
WHEREAS, during his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Roberto won four National League batting crowns, twelve Gold Gloves, the 1966 National League Most Valuable Player award, and ended his career with a .317 lifetime average, 240 homers, and 1,305 runs batted in; and
WHEREAS, Roberto led the Pittsburgh Pirates to World Series Championship titles in 1960 and 1971, winning the Series Most Valuable Player Award in 1971; and
WHEREAS, on September 30,1972, in the final regular season at-bat of his life Roberto became the 11th Major League Baseball player to record 3,000 hits; and
WHEREAS, Roberto was one of the first Latin American baseball players in the Major Leagues, and as such he faced language barriers and racial segregation throughout his career; and
WHEREAS, Roberto worked tirelessly to improve professional baseball's understanding of the unique challenges faced by young Latin American baseball players thrust into a new culture and language; and
WHEREAS, in August of 1973, Roberto became just the second player to have the mandatory five-year waiting period waived as he was inducted posthumously into the National Baseball Hall of Fame; and
WHEREAS, in 1984, Roberto became the second baseball player to be honored for his athletic and philanthropic achievements with an appearance on a United States postage stamp; and
WHEREAS, In 2000, the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2339 North California Street in the Logan Square Community Area of Chicago, Illinois, was designated as the 'Roberto Clemente Post Office'; and
WHEREAS, Chicago also honors Roberto Clemente with Roberto Clemente Community Academy (dedicated in 1974), currently located in the 1st Ward within the West Town Community Area;
Roberto Clemente Park, currently located in the 1st Ward within the West Town Community Area; Acero Roberto Clemente School (opened in 2012), currently located In the 29th Ward within the Belmont Cragin Community Area; and
WHEREAS, Roberto Clemente devoted himself to Improving the lives of underserved youth in Puerto Rico and throughout the world; and
WHEREAS, Roberto Clemente's humanitarian legacy continues to this day, embodied by the Roberto Clemente Award, of which Anthony Rizzo was the 2017 recipient while a member of the Chicago Cubs, and Cubs Rick Sutdlffe and Sammy Sosa were the 1987 and 1998 recipients, and Paul Konerko of the Chicago White Sox, was the 2014 recipient; and
WHEREAS, it is through Roberto's service work that he tragically died while delivering relief supplies to Nicaragua; and,
WHEREAS, The National Register of Historic Places is the official list ofthe Nation's historic place worthy of preservation, and recognizing the site of Roberto Clemente's passing would honor his life of service and be fitting for the National Register of Historic Places; now therefore
BE (T RESOLVED, that the City of Chicago calls upon United States Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and National Park Service to recognize the historical significance of Roberto Clemente's place of death in Lofza, Puerto Rico, by adding it to the National Register of Historic Places.
