History and Ongoing Influence of the Rocky Statue

• A statue of Rocky Balboa will soon immortalise Hollywood actor Sylvester Stallone’s act of stomping the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and raising his fists in the air in the 1976 movie Rocky.

• According to the New York Post, the statue of the big-screen boxer, which is currently in a warehouse, will be installed near the steps of the museum.

• Interestingly, these steps have become a popular tourist attraction for people who ape Stallone by running to the top and raising their fists in the air.

• With arms raised in triumph, the Rocky statue has long held a place in the hearts of Philadelphia residents and visitors eager to re-enact the boxing underdog's proud and jubilant training sessions in the 1976 Academy Award-winning film. On September 9, 2006, the iconic statue took its permanent place near the famous steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, featured prominently in many of the Rocky films.

• The statue was created by sculptor A. Thomas Schomberg, deemed by Sports Illustrated as "perhaps the best known sports sculptor of his time." The artist produced three Rocky statues in a limited edition series. During the summer of 2006, Schomberg studios introduced miniature versions of the Rocky statue in two sizes.

• From the base of the pedestal to the top of his raised boxing gloves, the bronze figure stands 12 feet 8 inches tall. With the pedestal, it weighs approximately 1,300 pounds.

• Director/writer/actor Sylvester Stallone commissioned the statue as part of Rocky III, released in 1982. Throughout the filming of the movie, and for some months after, it stood atop the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art overlooking the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.