Roberto Clemente's restored car to be centerpiece of Venango County fundraiser
Roberto Clemente began playing baseball on a muddy field in Puerto Rico, but a pair of brothers from Venango County hope his legacy will help them restore their hometown's own Little League field.
Randy Dye, 58, now owner of a Dodge dealership in Daytona, Fla., bought the Charger that the Pittsburgh Pirates legend had received as part of his 1971 MVP award and has spent the last 10 months restoring it and filling it with “Easter eggs” alluding to Clemente's life and career.
Next month, the Charger will return to Western Pennsylvania, as Randy Dye and his brother Jeff make the car a centerpiece of a fundraiser for a new fence at the baseball field in their hometown of Franklin.
“It's the most spectacular restoration of any car I've ever done in my life, and I've done a lot,” said Randy Dye, who's established a nonprofit organization that can sell tickets to see the car to raise money for charitable causes.
“I felt a sense of obligation. It can't be something I just put into my garage,” he said.”That's been affirmed and affirmed again by the number of people who have come into my shop and been moved by it.”
Jeff Dye, 52, who coaches Little League at Franklin's Miller-Sibley Park, said the fence surrounding Carl Williams Field has been there since his own days as a player. He, Randy, and their brothers Kurt and T.J. all played there.
“When I was 10 years old, it was a dirt infield. Then one season we came back, and it was grass — I want the kids now to get that same sense of awe we had,” Jeff Dye said.
The Dyes will host a fundraiser for the project at 6 p.m. June 23 at Franklin Junior-Senior High School, with the chance to see Clemente's car as the main draw. Local businesses have donated baseball-themed food, including burgers, hot dogs, popcorn, barbecue and Eat n Park “Smiley” cookies decorated with Clemente's number, 21.
Guests at the fundraiser will include Duane Reider of Pittsburgh's Clemente Museum and Roberto Clemente, Jr. — provided his wife doesn't give birth before then, Jeff Dye said.
He said their goal was to raise $30,000 for the field.
Clemente won the 1972 Special Edition 440 Magnum Charger as part of his MVP award for the Pirates' World Series victory over the Orioles. He died a little over a year later when the plane he chartered to carry relief supplies to Nicaraguan earthquake victims crashed into the ocean.
Randy Dye purchased the car for $105,570 at the memorabilia auction preceding last year's All-Star game in Miami, and has since put an estimated $45,000 into restoring it to the condition it was in the day Clemente took the keys — though he hadn't yet added up any of the actual costs.
“We never considered the price as we did anything ... We didn't skimp,” Randy Dye said.
For the sharp-eyed fan, he hid numbers and dates that were significant to Clemente's career or family, such as the historically accurate replica of a Puerto Rican front license plate with the anniversary of Clemente's marriage, or an inspection sticker that included Clemente's batting average for the 1971 World Series.
Tickets to the fundraiser include food and beverages. They are $21 each and can be purchased at the Franklin branch of Clarion County Community Bank, at either of the town's, Shop-n-Save stores or by calling Jeff Dye at 814 673 1044.
Matthew Santoni is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724 836 6660, msantoni@tribweb.com or on Twitter @msantoni.
