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"Bob" Clemente
BuckHunter68
Posts: 392 ✭✭✭
It may have been covered here at some point...
I collect Clemente cards but have limited myself to only "Roberto" cards. Does the "Bob" thing bother anyone else? For what it's worth, he hated it.
"You've gotta be a man to play this game...but you'd better have a lot of little boy in you, too"--Roy Campanella
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Yes it bothered me that they Americanized his name.
Roberto played with a lot of flair and that name fits him perfectly.
BTW I remember I was watching tv with my dad when they interrupted with a special bulletin saying his plane went down and a search was underway. He was my first favorite player.
Yes…I much prefer Roberto to Bob. Call the HOF player by his given name…do not show disrespect by calling the man, Bob.
Even the voice of Pirates for 28 years, iconic Bob Prince, called him Bob.😖 I noted the misnomer while Bob Prince interviewed Roberto in the clubhouse following the 1971 WS in which Roberto was named MVP.
Similar to when they called Dick Allen "Richie".
To make matters worse when he asked them to call him Dick, they then called him "call me Dick Allen".
Bunch of jerks.
The writers were brutal to Ted Williams as well.
It has always bugged the Hell out of me, and I also refuse to spend money on anything "Bob" Clemente!
Steve
If we want to get technical his last name is actually Walker. Go check it out and if you understand Latin culture it is very common. Bob sounds more American so that is why you saw it early on when very few Latin players were in the major leagues.
My understanding is that he was okay with Bob Prince calling him that (or even "Bobby") because he knew that Prince loved him and always stuck up for him at a time when many didn't.
Would you care to elaborate, because I've never heard anything like that before and Wikipedia (at least) suggests you're incorrect.
In many South American cultures, traditionally, the first surname is the father's first surname, and the second is the mother's. It’s not a “technical” point.
Yes, Spanish names frequently append the mother's maiden name. In no way does that make it someone's last name. If you were to meet someone in Clemente's shoes and address him as "Mr. Walker" or even "Señor Walker" the reaction wouldn't be "How did you know my real name?" but "Who are you talking to?"
Understand that Spanish naming conventions don't "end" with the last name anymore than Japanese do, but instead just make "Mother's maiden name" an especially poor security question.
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Depends, I guess...
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When visiting PR, It is nice to see so many different ways Roberto Clemente is honored and remembered to this day in Puerto Rico, such as current parking permits for residents in Old San Juan, license plates, etc.
José Alberto Pujols Alcántara
Shane
Iván Rodríguez Torres
I think the above posters have already helped out with the info you asked for and guess we need to tell Wiki they need to learn Latin culture. Guess that is what happens when a gringo who collects cards - guess I should have stated mi abuela es de Panama 😉