Updated: Mar. 07, 2023, 12:15 p.m.|Published: Aug. 10, 2021, 8:15 a.m. By Marc Bona, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Colavito, the slugger who ingratiated himself into the hearts of Cleveland Indians fans in the 1950s and ‘60s, will be in Cleveland for the unveiling of a life-size statue in his likeness at Tony Brush Park in Little Italy at 1:30 p.m. today – Tuesday, Aug. 10.

The ceremony is scheduled to be livestreamed on Facebook at two sites: The Rocky Colavito Statue page and the Rocky Colavito Fan Club.

“It’s impossible to overstate just how much Rocky meant to a generation of Indians fans, and to Italian Americans,” said Mark Sommer, a member of the Rocky Colavito Statue Committee, in a release. Sommer wrote “Rocky Colavito: Cleveland’s Iconic Slugger,” which came out in 2019.

Indians manager Terry Francona, whose late father Tito played with Colavito, is hoping to participate. Several former teammates are expected to attend. Bob DiBiasio, the Indians’ senior vice president of public affairs, will emcee.

The committee raised almost $200,000 for the statue, with Cuyahoga County Council donating $70,000. The Indians, Minute Men Staffing Services and William McKee gave $10,000 each. Paul and Karen Dolan, Robert Falls, Francona, Tom and Jan Hablitzel and the Northern Ohio Italian American Foundation provided $5,000 each.

Colavito was named an All Star in six of his 14 seasons and was a fan favorite for his time as an Indian. He last returned to Cleveland from his Pennsylvania home in 2019 during the All-Star Week festivities for a meet-and-greet with fans after Sommer’s book was released.

The park is at 12002 Mayfield Road.