The great Roberto Clemente collected exactly 3000 hits before his life was tragically cut short in a plane crash on Dec. 31 1972 at the tender age of 38. The Puerto Rican outfielder played all 18 seasons of his Hall of Fame career with the Pittsburgh Pirates helping lead them to World Series titles in 1960 and ‘71. Offered here is a Roberto Clemente circa 1966-67 Hillerich & Bradsby U1 Professional Model game-used bat fresh to the hobby. For the record Clemente hit .317 in 1966 and was named National League MVP. A year later he batted a league-leading .357 with 209 hits including 23 round-trippers to finish third in the MVP balloting.

The bat sports a minor crack in the handle and shows outstanding evidence of use. There are numerous ball marks and stitch impressions littered across the barrel. There is also evidence of black and blue rack streaks. The consignor used black tape to protect the handle crack for many years. The sticky residue has worn off but some black coloration remains. What a tremendous opportunity to pick up a vintage Clemente gamer with solid game use that has never before been offered publicly. LOA from John Taube of PSA/DNA with GU 8 grade.