Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Scooter 1917-2007

............................................................RIP Phil Rizzuto


The Scooter accomplished so much during his baseball career:

He won seven World Series Championships with the New York Yankees…Elected to Baseball Hall of Fame 1994…His number 10 was retired by the Yankees…Five time All-Star…AL MVP 1950…Served in the U.S Navy 1942-1946

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.

My Last thoughts on Phil Rizzuto:

Rizzuto’s last year in broadcasting was 1996; the year the Yankees won perhaps their most miraculous championship ever…I’ll never forget the excitement in his voice when Don Mattingly did something special…Here’s a guy who played Joe D. and the Mick, and he was in awe of Mattingly just like any teenager who loved the Yanks…I heard him broadcast games for twenty years – the man never spoke a bitter or phony word…He was terrified of insects, loved a good cannoli and his wife…He’s probably the most loveable man ever to don the pinstripes…I’ll never forget him, baseball was never the same for me after he retired in 1996…He’s the only sports announcer I’ve ever heard that didn’t develop a persona – the man and the announcer were one and the same…Phil Rizzutto – funny, humble, kind, gracious – a great man!






No comments:

6-16-82 MUSIC MOUNTAIN: THE GRATEFUL PILGRIMAGE

  In honor of the anniversary of Music Mountain, here’s chapter two from my latest work, The Grateful Pilgrimage: Time Travel with the Dea...