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Rocky Colavito was traded to Detroit for Harvey Kuenn the day before the Indians opened their 1960 season...in Detroit. (Detroit sure loved the deal; the Free Press crowed in a headline, 43 Homers For 135 Singles.) But Colavito came back to the Indians in 1965 for Johnny Romano plus a pair of prospects named Tommie Agee and Tommy John. How the deal happened had a bit of complexity, because it began with Colavito still a member of the Kansas City Athletics.

The Indians had offered a package of players to the A's for Colavito but A's owner Charlie Finley didn't like the offer. He also turned town a straight cash deal for The Rock (said to have been $300,000). Meantime, the White Sox wanted Johnny Romano, and the Indians told them that if they could make a deal for Colavito, they'd trade Romano to them for Colavito. The White Sox insisted on prospects going into the deal, too, and that was where Tommie Agee and Tommy John - both of whom had shown raw talent but weak performance numbers in the Tribe system - came into the picture.

Sure enough, the White Sox traded outfielders Mike Hershberger and Jim Landis and pitcher Fred Talbot to the Athletics for Colavito, and then they pulled the trigger with the Indians and sent The Rock back home to Cleveland for Romano, Agee, and John.