On New Year’s Eve 1972, Roberto Clemente told a young single teammate to step off an overloaded relief plane and go enjoy the holiday. Hours later that plane crashed into the Atlantic, and Clemente was gone. This episode tells the story of an uncompromising humanitarian first and a barrier-breaking athlete second.

We trace his path from the sugarcane fields of Puerto Rico and Olympic-level javelin throwing to a bureaucratic loophole that landed him with the Pirates. We cover the media that mocked his accent and anglicized his name, a spinal injury cured by Marine boot camp, an inside-the-park walk-off grand slam, his 3,000th hit, and his fatal mercy mission to Nicaragua.

• How javelin training built his legendary throwing arm
• The bonus rule and draft loophole that sent him to Pittsburgh
• Insisting on his real name against a dismissive press
• A heavier bat that balanced his lightning-fast swing
• Boarding the doomed flight to stop stolen earthquake aid