Phil Rizzuto 1917-2007 NY Yankee's Hall of Famer/Broadcaster

[Zoneboy]

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Aug. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Phil Rizzuto, a Hall of Fame shortstop and 40-year broadcaster for the New York Yankees known for his casual delivery and catchphrase ``holy cow,'' has died. He was 89.

The Yankees confirmed Rizzuto's death, without giving details.

Nicknamed ``Scooter,'' Rizzuto gained a reputation as a speedy pest in lineups that included future Hall of Famers Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra. He was the American League's Most Valuable Player in 1950 and played on seven World Series champion teams.

As an announcer, Rizzuto won legions of fans with homespun commentary, often involving his wife, Cora, or his most recent Italian meal. His popularity spread beyond New York, fueled by his appearance on Meat Loaf's 1978 hit song ``Paradise by the Dashboard Light'' and parodies by comedian Billy Crystal.

``I don't think I had a style anyone would want to copy,'' Rizzuto once said.

He was a shameless Yankee booster who peppered his broadcasts with ``holy cows'' and good-natured references to people who displeased him as ``huckleberries.''

Maris Call

``The way he was in front of the camera was the way he was off camera -- entertaining and full of life,'' said Marty Appel, who worked with Rizzuto for 20 years as the Yankees' public relations director and executive producer of the team's telecasts.

Here's how Rizzuto called Roger Maris's 61st home run at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx on Oct. 1, 1961, which eclipsed Babe Ruth's single-season record:

``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! And look at the fight for that ball out there! Holy cow, what a shot! Another standing ovation for Maris, and they're still fighting for that ball out there, climbing over each other's backs. One of the greatest sights I've ever seen here at Yankee Stadium!''

Rizzuto also had his share of bloopers:

``Reggie's home run has gone clear out of the ballpark.''

Bill White, then his radio partner: ``Actually, Scooter, the ball landed in the seats.''

Rizutto: ``It doesn't matter. They can't see it anyway at home.''

Or, ``If Don Mattingly isn't the American League MVP, nothing's kosher in China.''

Pope Comment

And then there was one that got him in trouble.

In 1978, he was criticized by some media outlets for saying on the air, after learning that Pope Paul VI had died, ``Well, that kind of puts a damper on even a Yankee win.'' Yankee fans, though, knew their beloved Scooter meant no disrespect.

Philip Francis Rizzuto was born on Sept. 25, 1917, in Brooklyn. At age 4, his father, a trolley motorman, gave him a baseball bat and glove.

He tried out for all three New York Major League Baseball teams after high school, and was rejected by the New York Giants and his boyhood favorite, the Brooklyn Dodgers, because of his relatively small 5-foot-6, 160-pound frame. The Yankees signed him and sent him to the minor leagues in 1936.

He was called up to the Yankees five years later as the replacement for longtime shortstop Frank Crosetti. He said his new teammates were slow to accept him until DiMaggio interceded. The two became lifelong friends.

Rizzuto batted .307 with three home runs, 46 runs batted in and 14 stolen bases as a rookie in 1941 as the Yankees won the World Series.

He played another season before enlisting in the U.S. Navy, where he served three years in the Pacific in World War II.

Bunts and Steals

He returned to the Yankees in 1946 to begin a nine-year run as the team's regular shortstop. He developed a reputation for doing unglamorous things well on a team of superstars: He bunted, caught ground balls and stole bases.

``He was the guy who had speed,'' former teammate and broadcast partner Jerry Coleman said in 1994. ``He had great hands. He was a great, great player. Anyone that good has a tremendous influence on a ballclub.''

Rizzuto had his best year in 1950 when the Yankees won the second of five straight World Series. He batted .324 with seven homers, 66 RBI and 18 steals to be named the Most Valuable Player.

``When they told me I won it, I thought they were kidding,'' Rizzuto said. ``I never thought I'd be the MVP of the American League.''

He played through the 1956 season, hitting .273 with 38 homers, 563 RBIs and 149 steals in 1,661 games. Rizzuto led the American League in sacrifice hits for four straight years and had a .968 fielding percentage at shortstop during his career.

`Hold My Own'

``The fact that I was able to play with the big guys and hold my own,'' he said in 1996, ``making the double play, helping the team and not hurting the team, was the thing I appreciated most of all.''

He was a five-time All Star during 13 seasons. The Yankees retired his No. 10 in a ceremony in August 1985, and he was honored with a plaque in Monument Park, behind Yankee Stadium's center field. He was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994 following a long campaign by Yankee fans.

Near the end of his playing career, Rizzuto said baseball announcer Mel Allen had invited him to the broadcast booth for commentary after he was taken out of games.

He decided to make broadcasting a career, turning down offers from the Giants and Baltimore Orioles for one with the Yankees -- worth less money -- because he had just opened a bowling alley with Berra.

Leaving Early

During broadcasts, Rizutto would joke about leaving Yankee Stadium early to beat the traffic on the George Washington Bridge going back to his home in New Jersey. He called his broadcast partners by their last name -- ``White'' instead of ``Bill,'' for example. He sent out birthday greetings, sometimes in the middle of a play-by-play call.

He remained a broadcaster until he walked out of the booth in 1995 during a game in Boston, angry for missing former teammate Mantle's funeral for work. He was persuaded to return for 30 games in 1996 before retiring for good.

Rizzuto also spent more than 20 years as a spokesman on television commercials for The Money Store, a lender, before being replaced by fellow Baseball Hall-of-Famer Jim Palmer in 1993. He also did commercials for other businesses, including New York-area appliance-seller P.C. Richard and Sons in the mid- 1990s.

Survivors include his wife, four children and two grandchildren. Funeral arrangements weren't immediately announced.

[catlover79]

to one classy guy.

[Cactus Jack]

That name reminds me of Billy Madison. If youve seen it youll know what I mean


RIP

[Skywalker]

R.I.P. Phil.

[TJL]

I grew up listening to Phil Rizzuto's play by play on TV. I loved it when he would break Bill White's chops. Always in good fun of course.

A truly classy guy and a great ballplayer.

As George Steinbrenner said today - "I guess heaven needed a shortstop."

[freshprinceofLA]

R.I.P. to a legendary Yankee