Listen to Herb Score: Listen to Audio
Indians announcer Tom Hamilton talks about Herb: Listen to Audio
Indians announcer Mike Hegan talks about Herb: Listen to Audio
Indians announcer Rick Manning talks about Herb:Listen to Audio
"Today is a sad day for the Cleveland Indians family and for Cleveland Indians fans everywhere," team president Paul Dolan said in a written statement released by the ballclub. "We have lost one of the greatest men in the history of our franchise. Generations of Indians fans owe their love of the Tribe to Herb Score, who was a powerful pitcher and legendary broadcaster. Our thoughts and prayers are with Nancy and the family."
 Score won the American League Rookie of the Year Award in 1955 and pitched for the Indians through 1959. As a rookie, he went 16-10 with a 2.85 ERA and 245 strikeouts. He followed up by going 20-9 with a 2.53 ERA and 263 strikeouts in 1956 and was considered one of the best young players in the game.
To put Score's status as a young player in perspective, he was the first rookie pitcher to get 200 or more strikeouts in 44 years, since legendary Hall of Famer Grover Cleveland Alexander. Score's rookie record stood for another 29 years, until broken by Dwight Gooden of the New York Mets in 1984.
The Boston Red Sox offered Cleveland a million dollars -- at the time an unfathomable sum for a player -- for Score early in 1957. The Indians laughed at the Red Sox. "We wouldn't take two million," general manager Hank Greenberg told the press.
A few weeks later, Score's career was in jeopardy after getting hit in the eye with a line drive off the bat of Gil McDougald of the New York Yankees. McDougald was the second man to bat on May 7, 1957, at old Cleveland Stadium when he lined a low, outside pitch back up the middle.
"It was the worst thing I ever saw in my life," the late Al Smith told Indians Ink in 1995. "The ball bounced all the way over to me at third base. There was blood on it. I picked it up, threw to first base and got the runner. Then I ran over to Herbie and his face was covered in blood."
 Teammates applied towels to Score's face to wipe away the blood.
"Well, you can't say I didn't keep my eye on the ball," Score joked to them.
He returned to pitch in 1958, but was never the same. Years later, Score insisted the injury did not lead to his downfall. He claims he hurt his arm the next season and that led to him not being able to command the baseball the way he once did.
On April 18, 1960, one day after he dealt fan favorite Colavito to the Detroit Tigers in the most controversial trade in team history, general manager Frank Lane sent Score to the Chicago White Sox for right-hander Barry Latman.
Score pitched for Chicago until 1962, then became the legendary “Voice of the Indians” for a 34-year run from 1963-97, the longest tenured broadcaster in the history of the franchise. He was inducted into the Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame in 2006.
"A lot of people have said over the years that Herbie could have been one of the best," Indians Hall of Famer Rocky Colavito said of his best friend the day before both were inducted. "That's wrong. He is one of the best -- both on the field and as a man. They don't get any better than Herb Score. I love him."
So did Indians fans through the years, many of whom never saw Score pitch, but enjoyed his calling of games in the broadcast booth. They made fun of his malaprops ("There's a long drive down the left-field line ... it could be fair, it could be foul ... it is!"), but missed him dearly when he retired after the 1997 World Series.
A year later, on Oct. 8, 1998, his car was hit by a tractor trailer in New Philadelphia, Ohio, about 85 miles south of Cleveland. Score had massive injuries and was in intensive care for weeks.
When he was inducted into the Indians Hall of Fame in 2006, Score was helped out of his wheelchair by Colavito to a standing ovation from the fans.
The following reprint is the story written by Steve Herrick and published in 2006 by Indians Ink.
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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