On this day in history, August 18, 1934, baseball star Roberto Clemente is born

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Major league baseball great Roberto Clemente was born on this day in history, Aug. 18, 1934.

Clemente’s mother, Luisa Walker, gave birth to her son in Barrio San Anton, Carolina, in Puerto Rico, according to the Roberto Clemente Foundation.

The child grew up loading trucks for his father, Melchor Clemente, on a sugarcane plantation before joining the Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League at just 17 years old.

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Clemente had always been athletic — he excelled at the high jump and the javelin throw at Vizcarrondo High School, the foundation noted on its website.

Roberto Clemente of the Cangrejeros de Santurce circa 1952 in Puerto Rico. (Sporting News via Getty Images)

Even though there was conversation around Clemente’s eligibility for the Olympics, he was most passionate about baseball.

Clemente was praised for his powerful throwing arm.

It was often described by commentators as a "rifle" or "weapon" for its "laser precision," the Roberto Clemente Foundation wrote.

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In 1954, Clemente was scouted by the Brooklyn Dodgers minor league team.

He was offered a $5,000 salary with a $10,000 bonus to sign.

Thousands turned out at the airport to welcome Major League Baseball stars Orlando Cepeda and Robert Clemente on their return home, but the No. 1 fan turned out to be their mothers in both cases. Clemente, Pittsburgh's National League batting champ, is shown here receiving a warm parental hug in October 1961 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. (Getty Images)

Clemente’s father made a public