Finding Rocky Colavito

Community yard sale. That’s what I spent my Labor Day doing. It’s an annual big event in a town fairly close to us. My wife loves ’em. I don’t particularly care for them, but every once in a while… well if you’re married you know. So there I was walking aimlessly through other people’s junk. When I spotted him.

No, Rocky himself wasn’t there. Truth be told, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to recognize him if he came to my door today. But I’ve seen that picture before.

The picture was on the cover of an April 1959 Sport Magazine. The title of the issue was ‘The New Faces In Sport’. You could say it was ‘Next’ before there was an ESPN. The feature inside was by legendary Cleveland sports man Hal Lebovitz. It’s titled “Everybody Loves Rocky Colavito”.

Read just a paragraph from the opening-

“Rocky has enough determination to supply a whole ballclub. Three Cleveland managers- Al Lopez, Kerby Farrell and Bobby Bragan- became convinced that Rocky couldn’t help the Indians, but they never succeeded in convincing Rocky. Because of his overwhelming desire, and his dogged refusal to give up, he is on the edge of stardom. As a matter of fact, rating him off his 1958 record, he is already in orbit, at least temporarily. But of course, before he can be accepted as a true star in the major-league firmament, 25-year-old Rocco Domenico Colavito will have to prove that his brilliant performance last season wasn’t a flash in the pan.”

April 1959. Fresh off a season of .303/41/113 and third place in the MVP race, Rocky was expected to produce again for the Indians, even though those in the front office weren’t convinced he was the genuine article. He would hit 42 more homers in ’59 and drive in 111 runs. But his average dipped to .257 and the brain trust in Cleveland decided to strike while his value was high. They shipped him to Detroit for batting champ Harvey Kuenn. Kuenn was injured at the beginning of the season, and ended up traded out of Cleveland that same summer.

Colavito would of course have more success in the Majors. He hit 35 homers or more the next three seasons for the Tigers. He finished his career with 374, and over 1100 RBI. And ‘The Curse of Rocky Colavito’ was born.

If you’ve never read Terry Pluto’s book on ‘the Curse’ I would highly recommend it. I’d also highly recommend the April 1959 issue of Sport magazine. Hal’s article is more like a mini-novel. Great read.

There’s also an article on Wilt Chamberlain and whether he would leave the Globetrotters for the Philadelphia Warriors of the NBA. Another on an exciting rookie named Elgin Baylor.

You just may be able to find a copy of the magazine around somewhere. But you can’t have mine. It’s not for sale.