Posted on 06/05/2005 4:02:22 AM PDT by Born Conservative
NEW YORK - Roberto Clemente's family is upset that pieces of the plane he died in are being auctioned off, according to The New York Times. Lelands auction house is selling a light metal piece of the airplane, measuring 19 by 14 inches at its largest point, the paper report on its Web site Saturday night. That section has a minimum auction price of $1,500.
A gray steel propeller, 14 by 79 inches, has a minimum price of $1,000.
The high bid for the first piece is $1,650 and the high for the second is $1,210. The auction, which includes 28 Clemente-related items, is to end June 24.
Clemente died on Dec. 31, 1972, when the DC-7 he was on during a relief mission crashed after takeoff from San Juan, Puerto Rico. The plane was headed to Nicaragua with supplies for earthquake victims.
"It's disgusting," Roberto Clemente Jr. was quoted as saying. "It's a shame that something so sacred to my family would go on the market like this. It's ridiculous. It has nothing to do with baseball. He's a human being. He lost his life. There's nothing funny about that."
The Clemente family will talk about whether they should take legal actions.
Joshua Leland Evans, the chairman and founder of the auction house, did not return messages from the paper seeking comment.
I agree with you, Roberto Jr. But if the family is not the legal owner of the wreckage, there's not a whole lot that can be done about it. Your Dad was a great man. He won't be any less of a great man because some cheesy company sells pieces of the plane in which he died.
Pittsburgh ping.
I don't think it even sells...
The plane is sacred? What utter nonsense. If the car that Bonnie and Clyde were killed in can be used for profit so can the plane that Clemente died in. I think the black sensitivity is at work again. It can be salved by a take of the auction sales.
I dont understand why anyone would want a piece of the plane Roberto Cle,mente was killed in. Now if it was the plane Patsy Cline died in I might make a bid LOL.
yeah that is disgusting. But we live in a society where markings on a grilled cheese sandwich get auctioned off.....
Some people will buy just about anything. The Clemente family should've bought the wreckage years ago to prevent something like this from happening.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.