[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 199 (Wednesday, December 21, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H9919-H9920]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    HONORING PITTSBURGH ATHLETES ROBERTO CLEMENTE AND FRANCO HARRIS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Kelly) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of 
several Pittsburgh athletes. The first is a young man named Roberto 
Clemente.
  Roberto Clemente was a tremendous player for the Pittsburgh Pirates. 
He had an 18-year career with the Pirates--3,000 hits, 240 home runs, 
two-time World Series champion, and he had an arm that was incredible. 
Nobody in the Major Leagues, after getting a single to right field, 
ever made a wide turn at first base. Clemente would throw them out, 
throw it behind them.
  As we remember him as a baseball player--and this is his last hit, 
which was a double where he got his 3,000th hit--one of the things I 
really admired about Roberto Clemente was not the fact that he was a 
great athlete, that he was a great leader, but that he was a great 
humanitarian.
  Roberto died on December 31, 1972. That is 50 years ago this New 
Year's Eve. He was on a mission trip to deliver aid to the victims of 
an earthquake in Nicaragua. Mr. Clemente was only 38 years old.

[[Page H9920]]

  I think the thing that we need to remember as Americans is that while 
people have different talents, their commitment is always to their 
fellow man.
  What I remember about Roberto Clemente was just how involved he was 
in Puerto Rico and in the islands because he knew they needed help.
  On that day in 1972, in a DC-3 airplane loaded with medical supplies 
and food supplies, Clemente took off on a trip that would never reach 
the end he desired. The cargo shifted in the airplane, and the plane 
went into a spin and dove into the ocean.
  We lost Roberto Clemente that day. We didn't just lose a great 
baseball player and a Hall of Fame player. We lost somebody else. On 
the back side of this, this is, perhaps, the picture--if you were to 
ask Roberto Clemente what uniform he liked the most, it would have been 
a toss-up between the Pittsburgh Pirates and U.S. Marines uniforms.
  Roberto Clemente served in the Marine Corps from 1959 to 1962. In 
that time period, he was on the All-Star team and won a World Series 
twice, but again, it was his efforts to help his fellow human beings 
that we remember the most.
  A tragic loss for us, but also something for all young people to look 
at and say: I want to be like him.
  Also, Dr. Joyce spoke earlier today about the loss of Pittsburgh 
Steelers running back and Hall of Famer Franco Harris.

                              {time}  1245

  Madam Speaker, I had the blessing of actually knowing Mr. Harris, he 
was a very imposing figure and he was a phenomenal athlete. When we 
think of Franco Harris, this is a picture of him. This is the last 
tackler that was trying to get him. He picked up a pass that ricocheted 
off a guy name Frenchie Fuqua and ran it into the end zone. The 
Pittsburgh Steelers ended up winning their first championship game that 
day.
  In addition to his years in the NFL and in addition to the years of 
being an idol in the Pittsburgh community, Franco Harris was something 
else. Franco Harris was very approachable. Franco Harris always had 
time for those who needed something.
  Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey said today that Franco always said yes to 
helping our food banks, blood drives, and youth sports leagues. He 
loved this city and this city loved him. His memory will always be a 
blessing for the people of Pittsburgh.
  When you think of these two athletes--not only their great prowess on 
the field of play, but their commitment to their fellow human beings--
the thing that we really have to sort out and dwell on, especially at 
this time of the year, is that these are incredible people who did 
incredible things both on the field of athletics, but more importantly 
in the city in which they lived and for the people that were around 
them.
  Roberto Clemente died in a mercy flight to Nicaragua and Franco died 
this morning just days before the Pittsburgh Steelers were going to 
retire his number and honor the 50th anniversary of the ``Immaculate 
Reception.''

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