Pearl Jam’s longevity is almost as long as the Pirates’ losing streak.
In a world full of unlikely pairings, it was revealed this past weekend that a certain rock star has a special connection with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Lead singer of Pearl Jam, Eddie Vedder, is a known sports fan, but many did not know about his love for Roberto Clemente. His admiration for Clemente runs so deep, that he played a huge part in actually saving the Roberto Clemente Museum located in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood.
During the pandemic, so many small businesses had fallen on hard times, and the Clemente Museum was no exception. Museum director Duane Rieder said that the help and support from Vedder and others likely saved them from going under.
“During covid, he helped us stay in business. Without him, we might have folded,” Rieder said.
The financial support came in the form of signed merchandise donated by Vedder, to include a fender guitar signed by the members of Pearl Jam. The items were auctioned off, with Rieder going as far as to say that Vedder single-handedly kept the Clemente Museum open.
“We raised about $120,000 on just what he helped us with and that got us to pay the bills and keep going,” Rieder said. “He single-handedly kept us alive.”
Vedder took to YouTube back in 2020 and produced his own video calling for fan support. The normally stoic rocker was smiling ear to ear during the video, speaking on his love for the Clemente Museum and his fandom of the Pirates’ legend while donning his #21 t-shirt. At the end of the message he played “Love Boat Captain” from Pearl Jam’s Riot Act album.
Pearl Jam as a whole as always been loosely connected to the sports community, as the band was briefly named “Mookie Blaylock”, in honor of their favorite basketball player at the time. Once the band started to take off, they changed their name, but honored the real Blaylock by naming their debut album Ten, a nod to his jersey number.
Vedder though certainly shines as the biggest sports fan in the band, as he wrote and recorded the song “All the Way” for his beloved Chicago Cubs, and re-released it when the team won the World Series in 2016. Vedder did take the time to shout out several Pittsburgh sports legends during the band’s recent shows at PPG Paints Arena, calling Franco Harris one of his heroes and idols, while also shouting out Penguins’ legend Mario Lemieux, and of course Clemente himself. Vedder was able to visit the Clemente Museum once back in 2013.
“This place, for those of you who don’t know, is heaven on earth, especially if you love Roberto Clemente, which I do, and if you love baseball, which I do, “Vedder said in the video he made for the museum’s 2020 fundraiser. “It could be one of the greatest nights of your life to go spend some time there.”
Vedder has been a known activist throughout the years, with that aspect of Clemente certainly sticking out to him and serves as inspiration for trying to make a difference in the world when given the opportunity.
“It seems like people come together under the umbrella of Roberto,” Vedder said in his 2020 fundraising video for the Clemente Museum. “They all have something in common, and I think that’s because they all know his quote: ‘Anytime you have an opportunity to do some good in this world, if you don’t do it, if you don’t take that opportunity, then you’re simply wasting your time on Earth.”