{"id":275930,"date":"2026-08-31T18:20:18","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T18:20:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/275930\/"},"modified":"2026-08-31T18:20:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T18:20:18","slug":"rocky-colavito-honored-by-family-fans-in-reading","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/275930\/","title":{"rendered":"Rocky Colavito honored by family, fans in Reading"},"content":{"rendered":"

To Steve Colavito and his older brother and sister, their father, Rocco D. \u201cRocky\u201d Colavito, never seemed like a celebrity.<\/p>\n

The late major league baseball player and coach was just their dad.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody knew him as a baseball player, but my dad, to me, was just the best dad there was,\u201d Colavito said in a recent interview. \u201cHe always made time for me. Always. It was never too much for my dad.\u201d<\/p>\n

His words echoed those of his sister, Marisa McGrath, during a tribute Aug. 11 at FirstEnergy Stadium, where the siblings and their mother, Carmen Colavito, gathered with family, friends and fans to celebrate the late ballplayer\u2019s career and life.<\/p>\n

\"RockyRocky Colavito’s daughter-in-law Kelly Colavito, his daughter Marisa McGrath, widow Carmen Colavito, son Steve Colavito and son-in-law Joe McGrath gather at FirstEnergy Stadium Aug. 11 for Rocky Colavito Tribute Night. (Courtesy of Steve Colavito.)<\/p>\n

As a girl, McGrath said, she did not understand all the fuss made over her father by the teachers when he brought her and her older brother, Rocky Jr., lunch at school or the hospital staff when she cut her foot and needed stitches.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just knew my dad was there,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The tribute took place before the Reading Fightin Phils faced the visiting Chesapeake Baysox on the diamond at 1950 Centre Ave.<\/p>\n

The evening\u2019s first 2,500 ticket holders received a limited edition Rocky Colavito bobblehead created for the occasion.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe first 2,500 ticket holders for Rocky Colavito Tribute Night at FirstEnergy Stadium Aug. 11 received a Rocky Colavito bobblehead.(Courtesy of Reading Fightin Phils)<\/p>\n

Matt Hoffmaster, assistant manager of the Fightin Phils, said the idea grew from a relationship that developed between the organization and the family after Colavito\u2019s death in December 2024 at age 91.<\/p>\n

Colavito\u2019s celebration of life was held at the stadium\u2019s Redner\u2019s Event Center, Hoffmaster explained, and members of the Fightin Phils management kept in touch with the family, eventually planning the tribute.<\/p>\n

For many, Hoffmaster said, the setting carried special meaning.<\/p>\n

\"InIn 1953, before becoming one of Major League Baseball’s power hitters, Rocky Colavito played in the then-2-year-old Reading Municipal Memorial Stadium as a member of the Cleveland Indians organization. (Courtesy of Steve Colavito)<\/p>\n

In 1953, before becoming one of Major League Baseball\u2019s power hitters, Colavito played in the then-2-year-old Reading Municipal Memorial Stadium \u2014 dedicated to military personnel killed in service \u2014 as a member of the Cleveland Indians organization, which brought a minor league affiliate to Reading a year earlier.<\/p>\n

Although affiliations changed over the ensuing decades, the stadium endured, with the Philadelphia Phillies establishing a feeder team in Reading in 1967.<\/p>\n

The venue recently underwent a $45 million upgrade and expansion as part a new deal between Major League Baseball and minor league teams like the Fightins.<\/p>\n

Some of the fans who watched Colavito play in Reading were able to return to the same ballpark to honor him 73 years later, Hoffmaster said.<\/p>\n

That continuity is unusual, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t find many professional baseball stadiums where Rocky Colavito and teammates of his era played,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"InIn 1953, before becoming one of Major League Baseball’s power hitters, Rocky Colavito played in the then-2-year-old Reading Municipal Memorial Stadium as a member of the Cleveland Indians organization. (Courtesy of Steve Colavito)<\/p>\n

Colavito, who was inducted into the Reading Baseballtown Hall of Fame in 1993, went on from Reading to become one of baseball\u2019s premier players of the late 1950s and 1960s, said Mark Sommer, a Buffalo-based journalist and author of the 2019 biography \u201cRocky Colavito: Cleveland\u2019s Iconic Slugger.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sommer said Colavito combined power at the plate with an exceptional throwing arm in the outfield and an ability to connect with fans.<\/p>\n

Between 1958 and 1962, Colavito hit more home runs than any other major leaguer, tying for the American League lead in home runs in 1959, Sommer said, and surpassing such legends as Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Roger Maris during that span.<\/p>\n

At the height of his popularity in Cleveland, however, Colavito was traded in 1960 to the Detroit Tigers for American League batting champion Harvey Kuenn. The deal stunned Cleveland fans and became one of baseball\u2019s most controversial trades, Sommer said.<\/p>\n

By the time Colavito retired in 1968, he ranked 15th in career home runs in major league history, the author said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the context of the times in which he played, in the era that he came out of, he was absolutely one of the best players in baseball,\u201d Sommer said.<\/p>\n

But Colavito\u2019s appeal went beyond statistics.<\/p>\n

\"RockyRocky Colavito is flanked by sons Steve and Rocky Jr. Courtesy of Steve Colavito.)<\/p>\n

He was known for staying after games to sign autographs until every waiting fan had one, Sommer said. The slugger remained just as approachable decades later.<\/p>\n

At a 2021 ceremony in Cleveland unveiling a statue in his honor, Colavito, then 88, stayed outside in the August heat, signing autographs for about two hours rather than disappointing fans, Sommer recalled.<\/p>\n

Colavito\u2019s connection to Berks County continued long after his playing days in Reading ended.<\/p>\n

A Bronx native, the ballplayer met his future wife, Carmen Perrotti, while playing here. The two married in October 1954 and reared their family of three children, Rocky Jr., Marisa and Steve in Muhlenberg Township.<\/p>\n

The couple later moved to Bern Township.<\/p>\n

\"RockyRocky Colavito, Steve Colavito, Marisa McGrath and Carmen Colavito gather for a family dinner. (Courtesy of Steve Colavito.)<\/p>\n

For Steve Colavito and his siblings, their father\u2019s devotion to family means more than the home runs, accolades and baseball lore.<\/p>\n

Colavito of Maidencreek Township recalled spending summers with his father in Cleveland when the elder Colavito was coaching. Night games meant late dinners, but when he wanted to return to the ballpark early the next afternoon, Colavito said his father never complained.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was always willing,\u201d he said. \u201cHis family meant the world to him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"RockyRocky Colavito with son Steve Colavito in the Bern Township home built for Rocky and his wife, Carmen. (Courtesy of Steve Colavito.)<\/p>\n

Baseball also became part of Steve Colavito\u2019s life. He was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles and later played in the Cleveland organization. Through the difficult stretches of his own professional career, he said, his father remained a constant source of support.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhenever my dad was there, I always felt like Superman,\u201d he said. \u201cI didn\u2019t feel there was anything I couldn\u2019t do or accomplish when he was there.\u201d<\/p>\n

That paternal support extended to all aspects of his life, Colavito said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt went beyond baseball,\u201d he said. \u201cHe was just always there for me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"To Steve Colavito and his older brother and sister, their father, Rocco D. \u201cRocky\u201d Colavito, never seemed like…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":275931,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[349,2567,857,182,21027,973,139,28,736,128,130,129,706],"class_list":["post-275930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-berks-county","tag-bern-township","tag-essential-reading","tag-local-news","tag-maidencreek-township","tag-muhlenberg-township","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-reading","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news","tag-top-stories-reg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=275930"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275930\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/275931"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=275930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=275930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=275930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}