After tackling the life of baseball great Jackie Robinson with 42, Legendary is returning to the ballpark with a biopic of Roberto Clemente, the Pittsburgh Pirates legend who was the first Latino inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
The company has picked up the rights toDavid Maraniss’ book Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball’s Last Hero and has entered into an agreement with Clemente’s family for his life rights.
He was inducted posthumously to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973, becoming the first Latin American and Caribbean player to be enshrined. His death established the precedent that as an alternate to the five year retirement period, a player deceased for at least 6 months is eligible for entry into the Hall of Fame.
Clemente was an All-Star for twelve seasons, a National League (NL) Most Valuable Player one season, a NL batting champion four seasons, and a Gold Glove winner twelve seasons. In 1972, Clemente got his 3,000th major league hit in the very last plate appearance of his career during a regular season game. Clemente is the first Latin American and Caribbean player to win a World Series as a starter (1960), to receive a NL MVP Award (1966), and to receive a World Series MVP Award (1971).
He was involved in charity work in Puerto Rico and Latin American and Caribbean countries during the off seasons, often delivering baseball equipment and food to those in need. He died in an aviation accident on December 31, 1972, while en route to deliver aid to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.
