Last week, Google celebrated National Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 to Oct. 15) by giving the late Roberto Clemente his own Google Doodle.

Google Doodles are special, temporary alterations of the logo on Google’s homepages that commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and people.

One thing the world remembers most about the baseball legend from Puerto Rico, who won two World Series with the Pittsburgh Pirates and died tragically on a humanitarian mission in 1972 when his plane crashed en route to Nicaragua, is his hit total.

Clemente had exactly 3,000 hits when his life and career were cut short at the age of 38, thus making the pitcher who served up the milestone hit on the last day of September in 1972 the answer to a baseball trivia question.

Clemente doubled off of West Chester native Jon Matlack, who was pitching for the New York Mets and who would, weeks later, be named the National League Rookie of the Year.

Matlack, who graduated from West Chester High School as it was being renamed B. Reed Henderson High School in honor of a longtime principal, was 22 years old at the time, and could not have known that he was part of one of the most noteworthy at-bats in baseball history.

“At that point, we didn’t know that was going to be his last hit, so that makes it a little bit more poignant,” Matlack told the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Matlack, a three-time All-Star who pitched 13 seasons in the major leagues, recalled to LatinoSports.com what was going through his mind when Clemente stepped up to the plate.

“I’m thinking to myself if I make a good pitch with the curveball over the outside of the plate, I got a good chance of getting him out,” said Matlack. “When the ball comes out of my hand, I was mad at myself because I realized at that moment, it isn’t going to be a strike. I was shocked that he swung at it, hitting the ball with such authority.”

The southpaw from Chester County went on to a distinguished career, retiring in 1983 with a career ERA of 3.18. He spent several years as a pitching coach in both the majors and minors.

Matlack, now 68, lives in upstate New York.