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Yankee Great, Phil Rizzuto Dies at Age 89
by Awrigh01

According to WFAN in New York, Yankee great, Phil Rizzuto has died at the age of 89. The details of his death are, at this time, unknown. Nicknamed "Scooter," Rizzuto is the oldest living member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, having been inducted in 1994 by a Veterans Committee vote.

Rizzuto was selected by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1937. He played his first major-league game on April 14, 1941. He played for the Yankees for his entire 13-year career, almost exclusively as a shortstop. Like many baseball players, his career was interrupted by a stint in the Navy during World War II. From 1943 through 1945, he played on the Navy's baseball team.

Rizzuto was voted Most Valuable Player by a large margin in the American League in 1950, and was the runner-up for the award in 1949. He played in five All-Star Games, in 1942 and each year from 1950 to 1953. In 1950, he won the Hickok Belt, awarded to the top professional athlete of the year.

Rizzuto's 1953 Topps baseball card read in part: Ty Cobb named the "Scooter" as one of the few modern ball players who could hold his own among old timers.

Broadcast Career
Beginning the year after his retirement, Rizzuto joined the Yankees broadcast team. Rizzuto broadcast Yankee games on radio and television for the next 40 years. His popular catchphrase was "Holy cow." Although Harry Caray was punctuating his broadcasts with the phrase even while Rizzuto was still playing, Rizzuto once claimed he'd been saying it his whole life, instead of using profanity.

Rizzuto also became known for saying "Unbelievable!" "Holy Cow!" or "Did you see that?" to describe a great play, and would call somebody a "huckleberry" if he did something Rizzuto didn't like. He would frequently wish listeners a happy birthday or anniversary, send get-well wishes to fans in hospitals, and speak well of restaurants he liked, or of the cannoli he would eat between innings. He would also joke about leaving the game early, saying to his wife, "I'll be home soon, Cora!" and "I gotta get over that bridge", referring to the nearby George Washington Bridge, which he would use to get back to his home in Hillside, New Jersey. In later years, Rizzuto would announce the first six innings of Yankee games; the TV director would sometimes puckishly show a shot of the bridge after Rizzuto had departed. Rizzuto was also very phobic about lightning, and would leave games with violent thunderclaps.
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REMEMBERING THE SCOTTER

I thought you old-time Yankee fans might find the following item that appeared in this morning's LA Times' Morning Briefing column amusing:

"In light of the recent passing of Hall of Famer Phil Rizzuto, Briefing unearths an old but timeless quote from Yogi Berra. upon hearing that Yankee teammate Joe DiMaggio was going to marry Marilyn Monroe:

'I don't know if it's good for baseball, but it sure beats the (heck) out of rooming with Phil Rizzuto.' "

Let's make that:  REMEMBERING THE SCOOTER   (where are those spell checkers when you need them???...)

Quotes From Phil Rizzuto

"Here comes Roger Maris, they're standing up, waiting to see if Roger is going to hit number sixty-one, here's the windup, the pitch to Roger, WAY outside, ball one. The fans are starting to boo, low, ball two. That one was in the dirt and the boos get louder. Two balls, no strikes on Roger Maris, here's the windup, fastball, HIT DEEP TO RIGHT, THIS COULD BE IT, WAY BACK THERE, HOLY COW HE DID IT, SIXTY-ONE FOR MARIS!" Source: TV Broadcast (October 1, 1961)

"Holy cow" Source: Countless Radio Broadcasts

"I like radio better than television because if you make a mistake on radio, they don't know. You can make up anything on the radio."

"I'll never forget September sixth nineteen-fifty. I got a letter threatening me, Hank Bauer, Yogi Berra and Johnny Mize. It said if I showed up in uniform against the Red Sox I'd be shot. I turned the letter over to the FBI and told my manager Casey Stengel about it. You know what Casey did? He gave me a different uniform and gave mine to Billy Martin. Can you imagine that! Guess Casey thought it'd be better if Billy got shot." Source: Sport Magazine (December 1961)

"I'll take anyway to get into the Hall of Fame. If they want a batboy, I'll go in as a batboy."

"There was an aura about him (Joe DiMaggio). He walked like no one else walked. He did things so easily. He was immaculate in everything he did. Kings of State wanted to meet him and be with him. He carried himself so well. He could fit in any place in the world."

"They've got so many Latin players we're going to have to get a Latin instructor up here." Source: The Sporting News (April 24, 1989)

"Those huckleberries in the National League didn't want to do anything (DH in Series) that the American League want to do." Source: TV Broadcast (September 25, 1977)

"Well that (Pope Paul VI passing away) kind of puts the damper on even a Yankee win." Source: TV Broadcast (August 6, 1978)
Quotes About Phil Rizzuto

"If you ever worked with (Phil) Rizzuto you'd know my motivation. How would you like to work eighteen years with a guy who still doesn't know your first name?" - Former Player / Broadcaster / National League President Bill White

"I heard the doctors revived a man after being dead for four-and-a-half minutes. When they asked what it was like being dead, he said it was like listening to New York Yankees announcer Phil Rizzuto during a rain delay." - Late Night host David Letterman

"Kid, is your mother in the stands? (Rizzuto replied yes) Well, stay here and talk to me a little and she'll think you're giving advice to the great Lefty Gomez." - Hall of Fame Pitcher Lefty Gomez

"Kid, you're too small. You ought to go out and shine shoes." - Manager Casey Stengel (1936)

"My best pitch is anything the batter grounds, lines, or pops in the direction of (Phil) Rizzuto." - Pitcher Vic Raschi

The Diamond Dude by Ogden Nash

In the life of this dandiest of shortstops
Fashion starts the moment sports stops.
Since he works for the Newark American Shop
Of which Mac Stresin is the Prop,
The wardrobe acquired by Phil Rizzuto
Is as tasty as melon and prosciutto.
Thirty-five suits and twenty-odd jackets
Proclaim he's a man in the upper brackets.
There are fifteen overcoats hung in line,
And twenty-five pairs of shoes to shine,
And as for shirts and ties and socks,
Philip has more than Maine has rocks.
The suits are neat and unostentatious,
But as for sports clothes, goodness gracious!
No similar sight is to be had
This side of Gary Crosby's dad.
Does this make Mrs. Rizzuto ecstatic?
No. She has to hang her clothes in the attic.

Source: Life (September 5, 1955)