[JimStinson]

Just a couple more tidbits on Clemente , One of my ALL TIME most stupid autograph related blunders was when around 1989 I was offered a stack of around 20 or 30 signed Roberto Clemente checks. The seller wanted (I think) $250.00 each which I thought was VERY HIGH , As even Ty Cobb checks at that time could be bought for less. So I passed. Those darn checks sell these days for anywhere from $4,000-$6,000.
Also one of my favorite Clemente stories was how he ended up playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He had been heavily scouted by Branch Rickey when Rickey was in the Brooklyn Dodgers front office. He knew talent when he saw it and had Roberto playing for Brooklyn's minor league affiliate Montreal and was ready to bring him to Brooklyn which would have given the Dodgers an outfield consisting of CARL FURILLO-DUKE SNIDER-ROBERTO CLEMENTE, Which would have been a pretty darn good outfield. Instead Rickey had a "falling out" with Brooklyn and one of the last things he did before he left was to "BURY" Clemente in the Dodgers farm system before taking the position of Pirates General Manager. I used to own an old Montreal Royals scorecard and sure enough he was not even on the starting team, and was listed WAY down on the list of bench warmers. Then the Clever Rickey opted to draft the young superstar as the first selection of the 1954 Rookie draft. Clemente debuted with the Pittsburgh Pirates April 17th, 1955. Branch Rickey had often feuded with Larry MacPhail and this was his final act of revenge for the ill treatment he felt he had recieved from Brooklyn. The rest, as they say is history