American Experience

Comprehension Section

Answer the following questions as you view the film.

1. Where was Clemente born? What was his father’s job?

2. When and why did Clemente become interested in baseball?

3. When Clemente was growing up, how did Puerto Rico differ from the United States in its attitudes toward race?

4. When did Clemente first sign with a Major League Baseball team? Which team was it? Which team shortly drafted him away from that organization?

5. What obstacle did Clemente face as a rookie in spring training?

6. What obstacle did Clemente face when the Pirates’ regular season began in Pittsburgh?

7. How did language create a barrier between Clemente and the public?

8. In what year did fans around the country first notice Clemente? Why?

9. What team did the Pirates defeat in the 1960 World Series? Why was this a surprise?

10. How did the people of Puerto Rico react to Clemente’s success?

11. What did Clemente blame for his failure to win the 1960 Most Valuable Player award?

12. What happened to Latino immigration during the 1960s? How did this affect Major League Baseball?

13. Whom did Clemente see himself as representing when he played baseball?

14. How did Clemente react to the civil rights movement?

15. In what year did the Pirates return to the World Series? How old was Clemente? Whom did they play, and who won?

16. What did Clemente do when inverviewed in the clubhouse after the World Series? Why was this symbolically important?

17. What baseball milestone did Clemente reach in 1972?

18. What disaster occurred in Nicaragua in December 1972? How did Clemente respond?

19. Why did Clemente decide to go to Nicaragua?

20. How did Clemente die?