How Sylvester Stallone's father destoryed his son's shot at a world class polo career

Sylvester 'Sly' Stallone is regarded as one of the greatest action stars of all time and rose to fame as a world superstar in the 1970s and 80s.

The actor has had a career spanning over four decades, with the release of his hit film 'Rocky' being the catalyst to his success.

In his new documentary 'Sly' on Netflix, Stallone revealed that the inspiration behind a lot of films was from trauma in the past from his mother and father.

Born in New York City in 1946, Sly was born to two Italian immigrants named Frank Sr and Jackie Stallone, and he recalled the harsh reality of coming from a broken family.

According to the Netflix documentary 'Sly,' his brother Frank Jr. said: "Our mother and father, it was like clockwork. I'd be up in bed, and you'd just hear them screaming and yelling.'

In his new documentary, Stallone himself spoke on his father, saying: "I was no stranger to serious pain. I was raised by a very physical father, you know?"

The abuse of his father at a young age changed the course of his life from a potentially world-class polo player to seeking therapy in acting.

Stallone took an interest in horses and began to play polo, playing the game with the craziest and cheapest horses that were supplied by his father.

After practicing on the worst horses money could buy, Stallone developed a knack for riding and playing polo at a high level, becoming nationally ranked in the USA at age 13!

Despite his talent in the sport, Stallone recalled an incident when his father began to scream that he was riding the horse wrong from the stands.

According to people.com, Stallone said that 'in the middle of the game' Frank Sr started to berate him. "I was going for a nearside backhand, and I didn't do anything wrong. He goes, 'You're pulling too hard on the horse!'"

"I pulled the horse up to get ready for another throw, and [Frank] comes out of the stands, grabs me by the throat, throws me on the ground, takes the horse, and walks off the field."

"I laid there, and I went, 'I never want to see a horse again in my whole life.'" Stallone nearly kept to that promise, but after years of success in the movies, he returned to play the sport in 1989.

Sly had invested in horses and players to play with and against his father, fielding a super team of ten-goal players and playing against each other at the Wellington, the number one field in the world.

Stallone recalled another act of violence from his father Frank, saying: (My father) "Spears me in the back and hit me so hard, that I went down. The horse walked right over; I don't know how it didn't kill me."

"I never played polo again from that moment on. I sold everything, I sold every horse, the ranch, the truck, and that was the end."

Stallone had the potential to become a star polo player, but his trauma led him down the road of acting, a road that has filled his life with more success than polo ever could have done.