I guess this will be an emotional night at the stadium. Sad, I didn't even know he was sick. They were just talking about him the other day.
Phil Rizzuto, the Hall of Fame shortstop who went on to fame for his unique broadcasting style, died late Monday night. He was 89. His death was confirmed by the Yankees. Rizzuto had been in declining health for several years and was living at a nursing home in West Orange, N.J. Rizzuto, nicknamed "The Scooter," was the oldest living member of the Baseball Hall of Fame prior to his death. He was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 1994 by the Veterans Committee. Rizzuto, noted as one of the best defensive shortstops in the history of the game, was the American League Most Valuable Player in 1950 and played in five All-Star games. In his MVP season, Rizzuto hit .324 and scored 125 runs. He played for the New York Yankees from 1941 to 1956 (missing three years because of World War II, when he was in the U.S. Navy). The Yankees won seven World Series titles during Rizzuto's career. Rizzuto's lifetime batting average was .273. He was second to Boston's Ted Williams in the 1949 MVP balloting. He went on to be a Yankees broadcaster for more than 40 seasons. His unique style was accented with his famous phrase, "Holy Cow!" when a great play was made. Rizzuto was on the call when Roger Maris hit his 61st career home run to eclipse the single-season home run record previously held by Babe Ruth. Rizzuto was a flashy, diminutive player who could always be counted on for a perfect bunt, a nice slide or a diving catch in a lineup better known for its cornerstone sluggers. He played alongside the likes of Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle. He stood just 5-foot-6 but was equipped with a productive bat, sure hands and quick feet that earned him his nickname. A leadoff man, Rizzuto was a superb bunter, used to good advantage by the Yankee teams that won 11 pennants and nine World Series between 1941 and 1956. Rizzuto tried out with the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants when he was 16, but because of his size was dismissed by Dodgers manager Casey Stengel, who told him to "Go get a shoeshine box." He went on to become one of Stengel's most dependable players. A Rizzuto bunt, a steal and a DiMaggio hit made up the scoring trademark of the Yankees' golden era, and he played errorless ball in 21 consecutive World Series games. DiMaggio said the shortstop "held the team together." Rizzuto came to the Yankees in 1941 and batted .307 as a rookie, and his career was interrupted by a stint in the Navy during World War II. He returned in 1946 and four years later became the American League MVP. He batted .324 that season with a slugging percentage of .439 and 200 hits, second most in the league. He also went 58 games without an error, making 288 straight plays. He led all AL shortstops in double plays three times and had a career batting average of .273 with at least a .930 fielding percentage.
"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, WAYYYY BACK THERE, HOLY COW HE DID IT, SIXTY-ONE HOME RUNS!" 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)
Some of my fondest childhood memories were listening to the Scooter and Bill White broadcast Yankees games. He will be missed. I'm sure there will be a nice ceremony tonight at the Stadium. Thanks for the memories, Scooter. It was a pleasure listening to you.
* Rizzuto was the first ever mystery guest on the classic panel show What's My Line in 1950. * Rizzuto led all Yankees and Cardinals hitters with 8 hits and a .381 average in the 1942 World Series. * Rizzuto played alongside Bobby Brown and announced alongside Bill White; Brown and White would later serve concurrently as presidents of the American and National Leagues, respectively, between 1989 and 1994. * As an announcer, Rizzuto devised the unique scoring notation "WW" for his scorecard; it stands for "Wasn't Watching." * Was the MVP of the 1951 World Series, in spite of the play where pugnacious Giants second baseman Eddie Stanky sparked a rally by kicking the ball out of Rizzuto's glove on a tag play. Rizzuto batted .320 with 8 hits in the series. * Rizzuto's name is mentioned in the 1995 Adam Sandler movie Billy Madison, when Sandler's character is attempting to write "Rizzuto" on a chalkboard in cursive, and is unable to properly write the lower-case z's. * The Seinfeld episode "The Pothole" features a Phil Rizzuto key chain that says "Holy Cow!" whenever you squeeze his head. George promptly loses it when it is buried under asphalt in a pothole. Kramer, upon seeing it (unburied), proclaims it a "talking Nixon." * Rizzuto decided to auction off his Most Valuable Player Award from the 1950 season on September 13, 2006, after he determined he could not figure out which of his children to will the special item to. The MVP award fetched $175,000. Three of Phil's World Series rings went for $84,825, and a Yankee cap with a wad of chewing gum on it went for $8,190. Known throughout the baseball world as one of the most giving former athletes, the vast majority of the proceeds went to Phil's long-time favorite charity, the St. Joseph's School for the Blind located in Jersey City, New Jersey.[6] This is the school that Rizzuto routinely mentioned during WPIX broadcasts of Yankee games over the years, where his friend since 1951, Ed Lucas, attended.[4] * Credits former teammate and Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio with introducing him to his wife of over fifty years, Cora. * Former Pro Wrestler turned author Mick Foley wrote a baseball themed novel entitled "Scooter" in which the main character Scooter Reilly is named after Rizzuto.[citation needed] * In an article in 1976 in Esquire magazine, sportswriter Harry Stein published an "All Time All-Star Argument Starter," consisting of five ethnic baseball teams. Rizzuto was the shortstop on Stein's Italian team. * The minor league team, Staten Island Yankees named their mascot Scooter "the holy" Cow, after Rizzuto.
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070814&content_id=2147920&vkey=news_nyy&fext=.jsp&c_id=nyy This is a nice article on the bleoved scooter from the Yankees home page... enjoy... RIP Scooter... one more Holy Cow for you... the voice of the Yankees of my childhood has passed...
One of my favorite baseball memories was when Rizzuto was fooled by the monitor's replay of a Winfield (I think) home run from the previous at bat. "Holy cow, he did it again!"
