New York – His speed and spunk made him a Hall of Famer.
“Holy cow!” made Phil Rizzuto famous.
Popular as a player and beloved as a broadcaster, the New York Yankees shortstop during their dynasty years of the 1940s and 1950s died Monday night. “The Scooter” was 89.
Rizzuto had pneumonia and died in his sleep at a nursing home in West Orange, N.J., daughter Patricia Rizzuto said Tuesday. He had been in declining health for several years.
“I guess heaven must have needed a shortstop,” Yankees owner George Steinbrenner said in a statement. “He epitomized the Yankee spirit – gritty and hard charging – and he wore the pinstripes proudly.”
Rizzuto was the oldest living Hall of Famer and his Cooperstown plaque noted how he “overcame diminutive size.”
At 5-foot-6, he played over his head, winning seven World Series titles and an AL MVP award and becoming a five-time all-star.
“When I first came up to the Yankees, he was like a big – actually, small – brother to me,” said Hall of Famer Yogi Berra, who frequently visited Rizzuto in his later years.
Rizzuto’s No. 10 was retired by baseball’s most storied team, and the club will wear his number on its left sleeves for the rest of the season.
The flags at Yankee Stadium were lowered to half-staff before Tuesday night’s game against Baltimore and flowers were placed by Rizzuto’s plaque at Monument Park.
New York also showed highlights from Rizzuto’s playing career and part of his Hall of Fame induction speech before the bottom half of the first inning.
Yet it was after he moved into the broadcast booth that Rizzuto reached a new level of celebrity with another generation of Yankees fans.
Rizzuto delighted TV and radio listeners for four decades, his voice dripping with his native Brooklyn. He loved his favorite catch-phrase – exclaiming “Holy cow!” when Roger Maris hit his 61st home run.
“Phil was a unique figure who exemplified the joy of our game to millions of fans,” commissioner Bud Selig said.
He was the American League MVP in 1950 when he batted .324 and also went 58 games without an error.
Long after his playing career, Rizzuto could often be found talking ball in the Yankees clubhouse. He especially enjoyed his visits with shortstop Derek Jeter.
“Mr. Rizzuto serves as the ultimate reminder that physical stature has little bearing on the size of a person’s heart,” Jeter said. “Nothing was ever given to Phil, and he used every ounce of his ability to become one of the greatest Yankees to ever wear this uniform.”
Rizzuto is survived by his wife, Cora, whom he married in 1943; daughters Cindy Rizzuto, Patricia Rizzuto and Penny Rizzuto Yetto; son Phil Rizzuto Jr.; and two granddaughters.
