"Holy Cow"...the "Scooter" passes away.

[Hickory Hill Hoff]

Today is a very sad day for New York Yankees fans and anyone who loves baseball, the legendary Yankee shortstop; Phil Rizzuto has passed away at the age of 89. Even though I never saw him play, he along with Frank Messer and Bill White were the voices I grew up with during the 70's watching and listening to Yankee baseball. I remember well those teams of 30 year's ago, the games on WPIX channel 11 in New York. I remember his different style of broadcasting; announcing birthdays, talking about eating, how he was afraid of thunderstorms and leaving games after the 6th inning so he wouldn't get stuck in traffic on the way home. My mother loved him because he was Italian and reminded her of her uncle. Back in 1980; purchased a 1953 Topps Phil Rizzuto card (shown in my avatar), at the time it was the most money I'd ever spent on a single card ($20.00), it was the cornerstone of that set I completed in 1999...it is now worth well over $10,000. I met him in 1993 and got his autograph, the year before he went into the Baseball Hall of Fame. The day he was inducted, I was at Yankee stadium to see a game between the Yanks & Indians and saw parts of his speech on the giant screen between innings. He was my first favorite player...a little guy with a big heart and personality to match. Goodbye Scooter ...say hello to the "Babe", the "Iron Horse", "Joe D." & the "Mick" for me.