Holy cow, we lose a true legend

Precisely.

 

RIP to a man I was never lucky enough to hear in regularity, but a legend on all levels.

 

Growing up in New York state in the late 80s-early 90s, if you ever turned on a Yankees game, you were in store for a few good stories. He was well past his prime when he retired, but he was always a good listen.

 

So sad...about 8 years ago, I was in a restaurant in NYC and saw Phil and his wife, Cora at a nearby booth. I've never done it before or since, because I hate the idea of bothering people when they're out, but I walked over to their table and said hi. They were so gracious and so nice. I felt bad for interrupting them, but I'm glad I got to meet him. RIP Scooter.

 

I will never forget the time he told Bill White about the dream he had in which he was swallowing door knobs.

White almost died.

Rizzuto was one of the really good guys around, a real ambassador for the game of baseball.

 

One more thing - he is also one of the few people I ever asked for an autograph. In an old old copy of Coronet magazine from the '50s, I found an ad for - I kid you not - "Scooter" shorts, Phil Rizzuto endorsed boxer shorts, decorated with silhouettes of a ballplayer. The ad had a picture of Rizzuto and the quote "I've never worn anything so comfortable!"

I made a copy of the ad, gave it to Rizzuto. He gave me a "Holy cow where in the world did you find that? and signed a copy for me.

Been on my wall ever since.

FYI, his Hall of Fame speech - which is hysterical - is reprinted in the yankee anthology Top of the Heap.

 

Every time you take a bite of a cannoli, you should think of Rizzuto, the originator of the symbol WW on his scoresheet.

(It stands for wasn't watching)

 

I love that!

 

That's it, I don't remember the Village Voice thing, but when i saw the book on amazon for 10 dollars last summer, I knew i had to have it.

 

Never knew Ty Cobb nicknamed him "Scooter." (At least, that's what I heard on ESPN Radio.)

I love the timeline aspect of baseball.

 

I don't know much about Scooter, but I know my dad will be sad. All his favorite Yankees from his childhood are dying off.