This column is for all the gray-haired men and women who grew up in the Cleveland area when I did, back in the second half of the 1950s and early 1960s when the only television stations were 3, 5 and 8, back when getting a chance to watch an Indians game on TV was a special occasion. Back when walking to home plate in the backyard or in Little League, we would hold a baseball bat behind our head, hold it with both hands and stretch our shoulders before taking a practice swing by aiming our bat at the pitcher. Because that is what our hero, Rocky Colavito, did. Colavito was 91 years old when he passed away on Dec. 10 at his home in Bernville, Pa. “Our collective hearts ache at the passing of Rocky,” Bob DiBiasio, the Guardians’ senior vice president of public affairs said in a statement. ”Rocky was a generational hero, one of the most popular players in franchise history.” Cleveland has had other sports heroes. LeBron James is from Akron and led the Cavaliers to the NBA championship in 2016 — their only title in a franchise history that began in 1970. Bernie Kosar graduated from Boardman High School near Youngstown and was selected by the Browns in the 1985 supplemental draft, thanks to some brilliant maneuvering by former general manager Ernie Accorsi. Kosar became a hero when he led the Browns to the AFC championship game in the 1986, ‘89 and 1989 seasons. The Browns haven’t had the sustained success Kosar provided from 1985-89 since then, nor in the bleak years in the decade before Kosar arrived. Kosar was a hero for what he did on the field. He became an instant martyr midway through the 1993 season when Bill Belichick unceremoniously cut Bernie because of “diminishing skills.” What makes the following James and Kosar had and still have different from the fans who put Colavito on a pedestal — a statue of him was literally put on a pedestal in Cleveland’s Little Italy three years ago — is Rocky played in an era when the Indians were not competing for championships. Colavito played for the Indians from 1955-59 and again from 1965 until he was traded to the White Sox midway through the 1967 season. He played only five games in 1955, but over the next four years he hit 21, 25, 41 and 42 home runs. His 42 homers in 1959 led the Majors. The ‘59 Indians finished second in the American League at 89-65, five games behind the AL champion White Sox. Shockingly, unbelievably, Indians general manager Frank Lane traded Colavito to the Detroit Tigers for Harvey Kuenn, who in 1959 led the Majors with a .353 batting average. Kuenn hit only nine homers with the Tigers that year. Colavito was not a victim of “diminishing skills” when he was traded. He hit 35, 45, 37 and 22 home runs in four years with the Tigers. He was traded to the Kansas City Athletics in 1964 and then back to Cleveland in 1965. Five years after being traded to Detroit, he was still our Rocky. He hit 26 home runs in 1965 and led both leagues with 108 RBI. He walked a Major League most 93 times. He hit 30 home runs in 1966. Baseball truly was America’s pastime when Colavito played. Players were mythical figures because they weren’t on television every game. They didn’t sign $200 million contracts. And so to see a game in person, and to see your favorite player hit a home run, well, there was nothing that could compare to that. In July 2019, a “Turn Back the Clock” night was held at the State Theatre in Cleveland to honor Colavito and promote a book written by Marc Summer titled: “Rocky Colavito: Cleveland’s iconic slugger.” More than 800 people attended the event. Fans stood in a long line to have their picture taken with Colavito or get his autograph. It was difficult seeing Rocky in a wheelchair — a reminder of our own mortality. He was in a wheelchair because diabetes forced doctors to amputate his right leg below the knee in 2016. “Father Time is undefeated,” as the late Jim Brown often said. I spoke with some fans in line as they were waiting to see Colavito up close. “I’m a big Rocky fan from a long time ago,” said Gloria, who at the time lived in Strongsville. “He lived on our street in Parma. I’m that little girl again waiting for him to come out of his house so I could see him.” Anthony Farone, now 72, also lived on Heresford Drive in Parma at the same time Colavito did. Anthony had an in; his uncle, Frank Farone, worked as a policeman at Cleveland Stadium. Frank Farone got to know Rocky well and through Anthony’s father, Lou Farone, Anthony introduced his starry-eyed nephew to Colavito in the summer of 1959. “When I was seven years old, I drank a Coke out of the same bottle as Rocky,” Farone said. “Imagine that. My uncle took us over to his house. Ray Narleski (former Indians pitcher) was there. We sat there drinking a Coke and talking about baseball and the Indians.” That must have been so cool.