The Curse of Rocky Colavito
What Is a Curse?
A curse is the opposite of a blessing. You do not want to be cursed. Whether real or not, depending on one’s level of belief in the supernatural, a curse brings misfortune. Objects can be cursed, such as the Hope Diamond, or people can be cursed, such as God cursing Cain, or a mummies’ tomb can be cursed, such as don’t go in that tomb and steal its treasures because you are going to get stung by a scorpion and die. Some people think curses are a bunch of tomfoolery and some people believe in them as much as they believe in the air they breathe.
Baseball Curses
Baseball has had many curses over its long history. Everyone knows about the Curse of the Bambino that haunted the Boston Red Sox for 86 years. Or the Curse of the Billy Goat, which plagued the Chicago Cubs from 1945 until 2016. These curses are well known because they seemingly kept both of these clubs from winning the World Series for quite a long time.
There are also lesser-known curses such as the Curse of Captain Eddie. Captain Eddie was a New York Giants outfielder who was killed in World War I. He was honored by the Giants with a plaque in center field at the Polo Grounds. When the Giants moved to San Francisco the plaque was lost. The Giants did not win a World Series until 2010, after they made a replica of the plaque, which can be found next to an elevator at Oracle Park.
One thing is for sure, most baseball curses have to do with a team being prevented from winning the World Series and the Curse of Rocky Colavito is no different.
Who Is Rocky Colavito?
Rocky Colavito is a former outfielder who played in the Major Leagues from 1955 through the 1968 season. He played for various teams including the Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Athletics, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, and most notably, the Cleveland Indians.
Colavito was a nine-time All-Star, who led the American League in home runs in 1959. He also led the AL in RBI in 1965 and even had a four home run game, a feat that only 17 others can claim. He was a good ballplayer and has been enshrined in the Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame since 2006.
So Why Did He Want to Curse the Indians?
The answer is that he didn’t. This is a curse along the lines of the Bambino and not along the lines of the Billy Goat. The curse happened and is still happening, because of a trade that occurred in April of 1960. The Indians traded Colavito to the Tigers for Harvey Kuenn. And the Curse of Rocky Colavito began.
Let’s Take a Few Steps Backward and a Few Forward
1948
1948 was the last time the Indians won the World Series. They beat the Boston Braves four games to two. From 1948 until 1960–when Colavito was traded to the Tigers–the Indians had only one season of below .500 ball. That one season was 1957 and they were one game under .500. That’s it. Every other year, from ’48 until the trade, they were a contender.
1960
The Indians started their slide to mediocrity. For more than three decades after 1960, they would not come within 11 games of first place. Not until 1995 did they manage to win the AL Pennant and have only accomplished this feat two more times in 1997 and 2016.
1965
In 1965, wanting to right the wrong of sending Colavito away, the Indians traded Tommie Agee and Tommy John to bring him back. Colavito played well for the Indians, but not well enough to match the 286 games that John won after his departure. Also, Agee would go on to win the AL Rookie of the Year in 1966 and would be the New York Mets‘ top hitter during their Championship season in 1969.
Ouch. They trade him away and they’re cursed. They bring him back and they’re cursed.
Curses Are Made To Be Broken
Who knows when the Curse will be broken. But one thing is for sure, it will be. The Red Sox did it. The Cubs did it. The Giants did it. The last time the Indians were in the World Series was 2016. Do you remember who they were playing? That’s right, the Cubs. The Cubs were working on year 108 of not winning the Series, but they finally did. This season will make year 72 since the Indians took home the trophy. Hopefully, they won’t have to wait another 36 years, but that all depends on how strong the Curse is. Or maybe it’s not a curse, maybe it’s just coincidence? Who’s to know? Can any of us really know?
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