More than 50 years after his passing, Roberto Clemente remains one of the most celebrated players in Major League Baseball history. Despite that, the Pittsburgh Pirates removed a tribute to him at PNC Park. Moreover, Clemente’s son, Roberto Clemente Jr., was seemingly caught off guard.
For the last three seasons, a logo honoring Clemente has been visible on the wall in the right field corner. The logo is a white baseball diamond, with Clemente’s name, as well his famed No. 21 in the middle of it.
But on Saturday, The Pittsburgh Clothing Co. shared a photo on X (formerly Twitter) noting that the Clemente logo had been removed. In its place is an ad for Surfside.
Just realized they replaced the Clemente logo on the right field wall with a Surfside ad 🥴 pic.twitter.com/Hz8qUBy6Sp
— Pittsburgh Clothing Co. (@PGHClothingCo) April 5, 2025
Clemente Jr. took notice, responding “Wow.”
WOW………….. https://t.co/qcL1O6zPZ2
— Roberto Clemente Jr (@RClementejr21) April 5, 2025
Others, including former Pirates manager Clint Hurdle and NFL Hall of Famer Darrelle Revis, who grew up in nearby Aliquippa, also reacted.
My Lord 🙏🙏🙏🙏
— Clint Hurdle (@ClintHurdle13) April 5, 2025
𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗮 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽.
— Darrelle Revis (@Revis24) April 5, 2025
This is low even for the pirates https://t.co/6lgcUtyLqz
— Ryan (@BrewPack8) April 5, 2025
Pirates just can’t do anything right. https://t.co/PM4gamPhnq
— Mike J. Asti (@MikeAsti11) April 6, 2025
It’s impressive how they always do the wrong thing lol…Thinking about it, I’m surprised they made the correct (and obvious) choice of even drafting Skenes https://t.co/346GQOeGpn
— Zachary Smith (@ZacharySmithPGH) April 5, 2025
The Pirates commented on the decision, explaining that the tribute was never meant to be permanent, while also apologizing for lack of communication.
“The 21-foot-high wall that officially bears Roberto Clemente’s name continues to, and will forever, display his No. 21 in two separate locations,” the statement said, per Caitlyn Scott, WTAE. “The temporary wall sign in question was put in place before the 2022 season and was never meant to be a permanent tribute, simply another cap tip to ‘The Great One.’ We apologize that we didn’t directly communicate that fact to the Clemente family and our fans.”
Clemente played his entire career (1955-1972) with the Pirates. As a 15-time All-Star, four-time National League batting champion, 12-time Gold Glove Winner, one-time World Series MVP and one-time National League MVP, he’s one of the most decorated players in MLB history. Clemente is celebrated for not only his on-field accomplishments but also his humanitarian work. Clemente died in a plane crash on New Year’s Eve 1972, while flying to Nicaragua to bring supplies to help in the recovery efforts after an earthquake.
