For Dave Sansone of Rocky River, MLB legend, Rocky Colavito, was his hero. Upon hearing about the legend’s death, the fan rushed to Little Italy, where a Rocky Colavito statue stands, and paid his respect. He placed a picture of himself with Colavito at the statue’s base, while remembering how he had visited the Municipal Stadium as a kid and waited for his hero in hopes of an autograph. But Colavito would make all the kids stand in a line. Recalling this, Sansone shared, “It was amazing. And the one time he signed my autograph and he went like this to my head,” showing how Colavito rubbed his head. “I didn’t want to wash my hair for 10 days.”

Colavito played for Cleveland from 1955 to 1959, after which something shocking took place. He was traded. This was a decision his fans could never come to terms with. They kept chanting, “Don’t knock the Rock!” and they were correct. The team floundered for years after trading him. Though he returned to Cleveland from 1965 to 1967, things were just not the same.

Regardless, he is an important part of Cleveland’s baseball history. He is among the 18 players who hit four home runs in one MLB game. Sadly, the icon is no more. He passed away on Tuesday. He was 91. Cleveland Guardians announced on X: “The Cleveland Guardians are deeply saddened by the loss of Rocky Colavito. Beloved by fans, Rocky spent eight of his fourteen MLB seasons with Cleveland. He represented the club in three All-Star Games while finishing top-5 in MVP voting on three occasions. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends during this time.”

According to reports, he died peacefully with his family by his side. Colavito is survived by his wife of 70 years, Carmen. He also has three children: Rocky Jr. and Stephen, daughter Marisa, and five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

While MLB fans were mourning the death of a legend, boxing fans received a big scare. X had ‘RIP Rocky’ trending in the remembrance of Rocky Colavito, but for boxing fans, Rocky reminded them of the legendary actor Sylvester Stallone, who played the role of Rocky Balboa in his famous Rocky film franchise.

This similarity in names caused a bit of confusion on the social media platform.

X left Sylvester Stallone and boxing fans in a fright…

Seeing ‘RIP Rocky’ trend on X brought a knee-jerk reaction from many boxing fans. They wrote:

• “I saw RIP Rocky trending and thankfully it wasn’t Sylvester Stallone.”

As they went digging into the news, they were grateful that the Hollywood icon was fine. Many even visited Stallone’s social media accounts to cross-check. Unfortunately, for MLB fans, it was their legendary athlete who passed away. But it wasn’t just Cleveland fans who were sad. Remember how we discussed Rocky Colavito being traded from Cleveland? Well, he was traded to the Detroit Tigers and so their fans too were saddened by the news.

During his four years with the Tigers, Colavito slugged 139 home runs and got in 430 runs, while averaging 35 homers and 107 RBIs a season.

• “WTF RIP Rocky??? I thought we lost Sylvester Stallone…”
• “RIP Rocky” was trending because someone died and now it’s trending because everyone thought it was Sylvester Stallone.”

The Rocky franchise holds a special place in every boxing fan’s heart. It not only made the sport more popular in the post-Ali era but also inspired many youngsters to put on gloves. Legends like Mike Tyson and Manny Pacquiao have publicly shown their appreciation for the series in motivating their careers.

• “Goddamn it, I saw RIP Rocky and thought Sylvester Stallone had gone up to join Apollo Creed. DON’T SCARE ME LIKE THAT.”

In February 2024, Carl Weathers, who played the role of Apollo Creed in the Rocky series, passed away at the age of 76. Creed was a beloved character by the masses and everyone was distraught after his demise. Fans couldn’t help but look back at his movies.

• “Saw RIP Rocky trending and thought we lost the GOAT.”

Irrespective of the confusion, the world of sports has lost a great man. In 14 seasons, he recorded 374 career homers and finished in the top five in MVP voting on three occasions. He shaped Cleveland’s legacy in the MLB and will forever be adored by his fans. Our prayers are with the Colavito family during this tough time.