Cleveland Baseball Legend, Fan Favorite Passes Away At Age 91

“Our collective hearts ache at the passing of Rocky,” DiBiasio said. “Rocky was a generational hero, one of the most popular players in franchise history. His popularity was evident across Northeast Ohio as sandlot ballplayers everywhere imitated Rocky’s on-deck circle routine of kneeling, then as he stepped into the batter’s box the stretching the bat over the shoulders and pointing the bat at the pitcher. I can proudly say I was one of them. Rocky loved our organization and always held the fans in the highest esteem. He would always say, ‘I am thankful God chose me to play in Cleveland.’  We send our most sincere condolences to the entire Colavito family, as well as his many teammates and other organizations impacted by his passing.”

Colavito was signed by Cleveland in 1951 as a 17-year-old, eventually making his Major League debut with the team in 1955 and playing five games that season.

But after recording 21 home runs and 65 RBI the following year and another 25 home runs and 84 RBI in 1957, his breakout campaign came in 1958.

Colavito became one of the premier hitters in MLB, bursting onto the scene with 41 home runs and 113 RBI, leading MLB with a .620 slugging percentage and batting .303 on the season. Then, one year later, he led the American League with 42 home runs and was named an All-Star for the first time.

However, after his remarkable 1959 season, he was traded to the Detroit Tigers for shortstop Harvey Kuenn in one of the most notable deals in franchise history. But Colavito later made his way back to Cleveland for the 1965 campaign, being named an All-Star two more times with the team before being traded to the Chicago White Sox during the 1967 season.

In all, he was a nine-time All-Star during his MLB career, and ranks 12th in Guardians history with 190 home runs. Colavito is also the only Cleveland player to hit four home runs in a game, doing so on June 10, 1959 against the Baltimore Orioles.

After his playing days, he was a coach for Cleveland in 1973 and from 1976-1978, and a television analyst for Cleveland on WJW in 1972 and from 1975-1976. Colavito was eventually inducted to the Guardians Hall of Fame in 2006.