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The Curse of Rocky Colavito is a phenomenon that supposedly prevents the Cleveland Indians baseball team from winning, be it the World Series, the American League pennant, reaching postseason play, or even getting into a pennant race. Its origin is traced back to the unpopular trade of right fielder Rocky Colavito for Harvey Kuenn in 1960. It is a classic example of an urban legend or a scapegoat for the Indians' past failures.
The idea of the curse was first presented in print by Terry Pluto, who had previously covered the Indians for The Plain Dealer. In his 1994 book The Curse of Rocky Colavito: A Loving Look at a 33-Year Slump, Pluto suggested that the trade, made by Indians general manager Frank Lane to blunt Colavito's popularity and salary demands, led to a stretch where the Indians did not even come within 11 games of first place from 1960 to 1993. By 1994, the team had not won a pennant since 1954 or a World Series since 1948.
Prior to the publication of Pluto's book The Curse of Rocky Colavito, there had been another explanation for the Indians' difficulties, one that came after the 1954 World Series but preceded the 1960 Colavito trade. The Indians fired manager Bobby Bragan in 1958. According to the story, Bragan walked out to the pitcher's mound at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, and placed a curse on the Indians, saying they would never win another pennant. Bragan, however, always denied that such a thing happened.
In 1994, the year Pluto's book was published, the Indians moved out of aging, crumbling Municipal Stadium and into the brand-new Jacobs Field. They were just one game behind the White Sox in the newly-created American League Central Division when a strike put an end to the season. Despite the abrupt end, this was the first time the Indians had genuinely been in a pennant race since 1959, Colavito's last season before being traded away.
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