All About His Wife and 3 Sons

Over 50 years since his death, Roberto Clemente‘s legacy lives on.

The trailblazing athlete is the subject of a new documentary, Clemente, premiering Sept. 23 on The History Channel. His three sons — Roberto Clemente Jr., Luis Roberto Clemente and Roberto Enrique Clemente — all serve as executive producers on the film alongside Richard Linklater and LeBron James.

The film explores Roberto’s accomplishments on the pitch — including becoming a two-time World Series champion and 1966 National League MVP — and in his personal life. He married Vera Clemente (née Zabala) in 1964, and the two would go on to have three sons together.

His life was tragically cut short in 1972 when he died in a plane crash at age 38. Decades later, Roberto is still celebrated with the Clemente Award, the annual Roberto Clemente Day and now the Clemente documentary.

“We are proud and excited for the release of this extraordinary project, which offers a deeper understanding of the man behind the legend — my father, Roberto Clemente,” Roberto Clemente Jr. told PEOPLE in August 2025. “His life was defined by purpose, compassion, and an unwavering commitment to others, and we hope this project inspires a new generation to carry that forward.”

Here’s everything to know about Roberto Clemente’s family, including his wife, Vera, and their three sons.

Roberto was born in Puerto Rico to Melchor and Luisa Clemente

Roberto was born on Aug. 18, 1934, in Carolina, Puerto Rico, to his parents, Melchor and Luisa and Clemente. According to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Roberto was the youngest of eight children.

Melchor was a foreman on a sugarcane plantation, and Luisa was a laundress.

“My mother used to get up at one o’clock in the morning,” Roberto once revealed to Pittsburgh broadcaster Sam Nover, per the National Baseball Hall of Fame. “She had to work and make lunches for these people that used to work in the sugar cane plantation where my father worked.”

Growing up, Roberto was influenced by his parents’ work ethic, and would take that into his sports career.

He married Vera Zabala in 1964

In 1963, Roberto met Vera Zabala at a drugstore in Carolina, Puerto Rico.

“Dad asked her name, who she was related to and a bunch of questions right there,” Luis told MLB.com in September 2025. “And Mom was just silent. She said her name was Vera, but that’s about it. She knew who he was, but Mom was really reserved.”

Though her parents were strict, Roberto eventually convinced Vera’s father to let him date his daughter. Roberto and Vera were married the following year, on Nov. 14, 1964, per the Roberto Clemente Foundation.

“They were just the perfect match,” Luis recalled. “They had the same mind and heart. They had so much love for each other and so much love for people. The people loved them, too.”

They shared three sons

The couple had three sons: Roberto Jr., Luis and Roberto Enrique.

Roberto Roberto Jr. was born in 1965, and Luis followed the next year. The couple welcomed their youngest son, Roberto Enrique, in 1969.

His sons carry on his work through the Roberto Clemente Foundation, as Roberto Jr. explained to CBS News in February 2024.

“We have that legacy. But it is not our legacy, it’s all of our legacy because he was a human being. He was a brother to all of us,” he said. “And that is one thing I truly believe that we need to focus on is actually how he lived his life, what it meant to do what he did.”

He added, “If we choose to emulate what he did, we will be in good shape.”

Roberto died in a plane crash in 1972, while his wife died in 2019

On Dec. 31, 1972, Roberto died in a plane crash off the coast of Puerto Rico. Roberto was on a humanitarian mission delivering supplies to Nicaragua, after an earthquake struck the country a week earlier.

According to History.com, the cargo plane Roberto was riding in was loaded over its maximum weight capacity. The plane exploded and crashed into the ocean shortly after takeoff. Everyone on board — Roberto and four others — were killed. He was 38 years old.

“If he had died in a common way, people would still remember him,” Vera told The New York Times in November 1994. “But Dec. 31, it was a special day and his was a special mission. I admire him for that, as a person, as a human being. So his image I keep alive. I feel happy doing what I am doing.”

For decades following his death, Vera kept Roberto’s legacy alive. She died on Nov. 16, 2019, at age 78, after being hospitalized in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

“Vera epitomized grace, dignity and strength in the wake of heartbreaking tragedy and loss,” Pittsburgh Pirates chairman Bob Nutting said in a statement at the time, per The New York Times.

Vera founded the Roberto Clemente Foundation to continue his legacy

Roberto was posthumously inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973, a year after his death.

Her husband always dreamed of opening a sports center youth in Puerto Rico, so in 1976, spearheaded by Vera, the Ciudad Deportiva Roberto Clemente (Roberto Clemente Sports City) was established, according to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

“It’s more than work,” she said in 1994, per the organization. “My time is here. I never take a vacation.”

Vera was also the leader and chairwoman of the Roberto Clemente Foundation, and served as a goodwill ambassador for Major League Baseball (MLB).

To this day, the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award — which is given to the player who “best represents the game of baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions,” per the MLB — is given out every year. The baseball player’s life is also celebrated during the annual Roberto Clemente Day, which occurs on Sept. 15.