CLEVELAND (WJW) – Cleveland Indians hall of famer Rocky Colavito has died, the Cleveland Guardians confirmed Tuesday evening.
The team said Colavito passed away peacefully at home alongside his family in Bernville, Pennsylvania. He was 91.
Rocky Colavito, Cleveland Indians outfielder, during spring training. Posed batting shot. (Getty Images)
The New York City native signed with Cleveland at 17 years old after a tryout at Yankee Stadium ahead of the 1951 season.
During eight seasons with the Indians, Colavito landed 190 home runs, 574 RBI and 851 hits as a right fielder.
After retiring from the MLB, he served as a TV analyst at WJW in 1972 and 1975-1976. He then served on Cleveland’s coaching staff from 1976-1978.
Colavito was named in Cleveland’s hall of fame in 2006.
“Our collective hearts ache at the passing of Rocky,” said Guardians Senior Vice President of Public Affairs Bob DiBiasio. “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.”
In 2021, a statue was dedicated to the baseball legend on his 88th birthday in Little Italy’s Tony Brush Park.
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