A few hours ago, I heard that Phil Rizzuto passed away. He was 89 and died of complications of pneumonia. Apparently he’d been in declining health for years and he lived a very long life. As a huge fan of the Yankees, this was a pretty decent blow to me. For me he was the voice of the Yankees. He ran play-by-play for all the games for as long as I was a kid. He spent 40 years in the broadcaster’s booth announcing the scores, telling jokes and stories and generally being the vocal personality for the Bronx Bombers. Sadly, while he’s getting sympathy here in Boston, it has little to do with him but for the team he represented. One person said straight out, I hate the Yankees. Another only remembered him from his ads for the Money Store and said “The Money Store guy died? Really?” In a word, wow.
While I only really knew his broadcasting stuff, I did know he was a Hall of Famer. But there so much I didn’t know. Up until his death, he was the oldest living Hall of Famer. I knew he was a Hall of Famer but I didn’t know however that he played shortstop. That’s a tough position for anyone to play, and at 5′6″, his plaque at Cooperstown notes that he “overcame his diminutive size” to do it. He played as hard as hell as short for the Yanks for 13 years, won seven World Series titles, was a MVP and a five-time All-Star. A great history for anyone.
But of course he’ll be remembered for exclaiming “Holy Cow!” for every great play he witnessed. Hell, just listen to Paradise by the Dashboard Light by Meat Loaf; that’s him calling the play-by-play in the bridge. Even the Money Store comment is based on his distinctive voice. Not a lot of people can say they’ve had a great career in their lives. He had two.
Out of respect the Yankees are wearing his number, 10, on their sleeves for the rest of the season.