Brotherly Love
Lifelong Bond Between Colavito And Score Was In The Cards

The friendship between Herb Score and Rocky Colavito that began in the early 1950s started almost by accident.

In fact, if it hadn’t have been for a couple of card-playing teammates, the two might not have gotten together in the first place.

“We weren’t roommates at first,” recalled Colavito. “My roommate liked to play poker and so did Herb’s. Since they liked to play cards, they spent a lot of time together. Herb didn’t play cards and neither did I. That’s when we started spending time together.”

The friendship is still strong over 50 years later. Colavito and Score were two of the inductees, along with Sam McDowell and Al Rosen and the late Ray Chapman, Addie Joss and Al Lopez, into the Indians Hall of Fame in July.

Score and Colavito were roommates for seven years, the last five coming with the Indians from 1955 through 1959. The Hall of Fame induction experience was especially emotional for Colavito, who couldn’t hold back the tears when speaking of his best friend. Score was involved in a serious automobile accident in 1998 and has been plagued by a series of health problems since. He is confined to a wheelchair and has difficulty speaking.

When talking about Score, tears well up in Colavito’s eyes. He had to stop several times to compose himself when talking about Score during festivities at the Hall of Fame weekend.

“Herb never complains,” Colavito said. “He never made an excuse for anything that happened to him. He never felt sorry for himself. He has always dealt with adversity as well as any human being I know.”

Score’s name has been synonymous with Indians baseball for over 50 years. As a hard-throwing left-handed pitcher in 1955, Score was the American League Rookie of the Year in 1955 and won 20 games the following year, leading the majors in strikeouts both seasons.

Score’s career was curtailed on May 7, 1957, when he was hit in the eye by a line drive off the bat of the Yankees’ Gil McDougal. Although he returned from the injury, he hurt his arm and was traded to the Chicago White Sox in 1960, ironically, the day after the infamous deal that sent Colavito to Detroit. Score, who retired as a player in 1962, became an Indians television broadcaster in 1964 and moved to the radio booth in 1968. He retired following the 1997 season.

Score has been a beloved figure to a legion of Tribe fans, both young and old. Mike Hargrove played for the Indians from 1979 until 1985. He managed the Tribe from 1991 through 1999.

“Every team has someone who is the face of the franchise for a lot of people,” said Hargrove, now the manager of the Seattle Mariners. “For many people here, Herbie is the face of the Cleveland Indians.”

“Think about all the things Herbie’s been through,” Colavito said. “He was hit in the eye with a ball. He came back, was pitching well, and hurt his arm. He could have talked about that a lot, but he never did. He never said, ‘woe is me.’ ”

But it’s still tough for Colavito to see what’s happened to his friend.

“It’s very difficult,” he said. “It’s very hard for me. Herbie is a wonderful human being.”

The common belief has been Score’s career was never the same after he was hit in the eye. Score has always insisted that wasn’t the case, which is also what Colavito believes.

“Herb came back in 1958 and was throwing the ball well,” Colavito said. “His arm was bothering him and finally the doctors told him not to throw for a month. He came back one night in Washington and was overpowering. He pitched two innings and struck out five of the six guys he faced. The last guy he faced, he snapped off a curveball and hurt his arm again.”

Colavito thinks that, more than the eye injury, is what affected Score’s career.

“After that, he slung the ball,” he said. “He could still throw pretty hard, but not like it was before.”

Colavito, a power-hitting outfielder who didn’t have a bad arm himself, remembers meeting a tall, hard-throwing pitcher in 1952 at the Indians’ spring training camp in Daytona Beach, Fla. Both were minor leaguers and Score made an immediate impression.

“He had a hell of a curveball, a fastball and a changeup,” Colavito said. “I was playing for the Class D team and Herbie was playing for the Class A team. Our teams were playing each other. Nobody could put the ball in play against Herb. Nobody could hit the ball.”

Colavito faced Score twice. The first came during an intra-squad game in spring training.

“He threw me a curveball and it hit me in the foot,” Colavito said. “I told him, ‘You're supposed to be my roommate. You hit me in the foot! ’ ”

The second meeting came in 1960 after they had been traded. Colavito’s Tigers were playing Score’s White Sox at the old Comiskey Park in Chicago.

“It felt strange facing each other,“ Colavito said. “He threw me a fastball. I hit it over the roof. It was foul, but not by much. He looked at me and yelled, `Hey roomie, what the hell is this?’ So I got back in the box and hit about a thousand hopper down the third base line. The third baseman was playing way back. I beat it out, which should tell you how good that third baseman was because I wasn't known for my speed.”

After Colavito reached first base, Score looked at him and yelled, “Hey roomie, you're actually going to take that?”

Colavito still marvels at Score’s ability.

“Ted Williams told me that Herb was the best pitcher he ever faced,” he said. “He threw as hard as anyone I ever saw and had as good a curveball as anyone I ever saw. His curve was so sharp. It looked like his fastball, but it dropped right off the table.”

The bond between the two men is still strong over five decades from when they first met. And Colavito is proud to say they’re more than friends.

“We're like brothers,” he said. 
 
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