Altoona Curve to retire No. 21 in honor of Roberto Clemente

If the answer is “Roberto Clemente and Adam Hyzdu,” what the heck could the trivia question possibly be?

In a little more than a week, Clemente and Hyzdu will be the only players to have their numbers retired by the Altoona Curve, the Double-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Curve announced Thursday that a ceremony will be held before a July 21 game against the Reading Fightin’ Phils to retire Clemente’s No. 21.

A plaque will be unveiled in right field at Peoples Natural Gas Field in Altoona, hung 21 feet above the ground. Representatives from the Clemente Museum in Pittsburgh will bring an exhibit of artifacts associated with the Pirates’ all-time great.

“Roberto Clemente is one of the most impactful people in the Pirates rich history, a tradition we are thrilled to help write each season in Altoona,” Curve general manager Nate Bowen said in a press release.

The Pirates retired Clemente’s No. 21 in a pregame ceremony at Three Rivers Stadium on April 6, 1973, months after he died in a plane crash delivering supplies to earthquake-stricken Nicaragua. There is a movement aimed at retiring the number across every team in MLB, but it has not yet been successful.

Clemente did play one year of minor league baseball before the Pirates claimed him from the Dodgers in the Rule 5 Draft in 1955. He hit .257 with two home runs and 12 RBIs in 87 games with the Montreal Royals of the International League in 1954.

Hyzdu’s No. 16 was retired after he starred for the Curve during the first two seasons in franchise history in 1999-2000. In 1999, Hyzdu hit .316 with 24 home runs and 78 RBIs. In 2000, he hit .290 with 31 homers and 106 RBIs. He remains the franchise’s all-time home runs leader with 55, tied with Josh Bonifay.

Hyzdu went on to play parts of four MLB seasons with the Pirates from 2000-04, hitting .231 with 18 homers and 55 RBIs in 308 at-bats.