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September 8, 2010Cavaliers’ Trade Exception Will Be a Running Story in the 2010-11 Season
September 8, 2010Community 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.
9 Comments
I’m really interested in why the Cards picked Solly Hemus. He was a banjo hitter.
I can’t get over the line below that: “Is Wilt really going into the NBA?”
This is really a pretty spectacular find. Almost makes me want to start perusing garage/lawn sales.
Rick,
I picked up that issue early in the day and looked at it. I was looking for Reds or Browns stuff.
Anyone else think that picture resembles Joey Votto?
Aaron-There was a serious lack of Browns covers. Someone certainly got there before us.
I remember one of the highlights of my Sunday mornings was reading the Hal Lebovitz column “A Little Bit Of This And A Little Bit Of That”. Hal remains a Cleveland icon.
I grew up read Hal Lebovitz. He is in the CLE sports pantheon.
Here’s hoping you came by that issue of Sport only after a Goonies-Gremlins_Golden Child adventure where a old sage man of indeterminate east asian origin rewarded your husbandly diligence by promising to reverse the curse.
^^ ditto the hal lebovitz acclaim. though i only caught his tail-end and ‘ask hal the refereer’ is what i remember.
random factoid: he was a glenville tarblooder.
I will be 67 in October and Rocky will forever by my childhood baseball hero – DON”T KNOCK THE ROCK – remember?
when they traded him for Kuenn – it broke all our hearts