The Mystery of The Three Rocky Balboa Statues: Where Are They Today?
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
Before the movie Rocky III was released in 1982, script writer and actor Sylvester Stallone commissioned Denver artist A. Thomas Schomberg to create three 2-ton 10-foot-tall bronze statues of his movie character Rocky Balboa. Today on Real Combat Media, the final fate of these three statues is discussed in public for their historical value. The Rocky statues represent Americana, boxing and movie history.
Rocky statue number one, featuring in the movies Rocky III (1982) and Rocky V (1990), was returned to the Philadelphia Art Museum on September 8, 2006, from its relocation point in front of the Wachovia Spectrum in south Philadelphia, and placed on a pedestal in a grassy area near the foot of the steps to the right of the art museum. The statue and the art museum steps, featured in the Rocky movies, remain one of Philadelphia’s biggest tourist attractions. Rocky statue number one was originally situated at the top of the steps during Rocky filming, and later relocated to the bottom of the steps, before being removed due to the question of whether it was art or just an ugly movie prop. The controversy would make Rocky statue number one the most famous sports statue of all-time.
Tourist attraction value ultimately mandated the Philadelphia Art Museum and the city of Philadelphia move Rocky statue number one back to the general vicinity of where movie fans would expect to find it. Rocky statue number one Facebook page is at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rocky-Statue/185688104783560?group_id=0
Rocky statue number one has also been featured in a number of other movies, most notably Trading Places with Eddie Murphy, Mannequin with Andrew McCarthy, and Philadelphia with Tom Hanks.
A 360 degree view of Rocky statue number one is found online at Photosynth at
http://photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=2705ed50-29e8-4bdf-a1dd-28d341704a9e
Rocky statue number two is located in the San Diego Hall of Champions Sports Museum in San Diego, California, where it remains on public display inside, safe and secure for posterity and future generations.
Rocky statue number three is apparently still available for sale, having been listed on the Ebay auction site for a starting bid of five million dollars to raise funds for the Pennsylvania non-profit International Institute For Sport and Olympic History, with a deadline of June 18, 2003. Despite attempts to sell Rocky statue number three for as little as one million dollars, the third Rocky statue has not attracted serious bidders. The IISOH original webpage to sell Rocky statue number three, dated May 16, 2003, is found online at http://www.harveyabramsbooks.com/501c3press1.html
archived. The photo of Rocky statue number three can be used for onetime media purposes only, and appears as part of this unique article for historical purposes.
COMMENTS
English
A great statue and a great film franchise. For an inspirational story, please read the award winning book Rocky Spirit, the Rocky Balboa connection to success available on amazon.com.