CLEVELAND — Rocky Colavito, a Cleveland Indians icon, will soon be honored with his own statue in the city’s Little Italy neighborhood.
Groundbreaking for the statue took place Tuesday morning at Tony Brush Park along Mayfield Road.
Construction is expected to last several weeks, according to the Rocky Colavito Statue Committee.
“This project is going to bring added recognition to a well-deserved ballplayer whose impact on Cleveland went far beyond the playing field,” said Matt Gambatese, the committee’s chairman.
The statue will be unveiled Tuesday, Aug. 10, which marks Colavito’s 88th birthday. Colavito, who is a member of the Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame, also plans to be in attendance during the statue’s dedication ceremony.
“Celebrated sports sculptor David Deming created the clay statue and it was sent to a foundry in Cleveland last month,” officials with the project said in a press release. “Deming’s work includes Indians legends Larry Doby, Lou Boudreau and Frank Robinson, as well as Browns’ stars Jim Brown and Otto Graham.”
Colavito was a six-time All Star who slugged 374 home runs, which was the 15th most ever at the time of his retirement. He played with the Indians from 1956 to 1959, and again from 1965 to 1968.
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