Phil Rizzuto

It is with infinite sadness that I comment on the passing of the Scooter, Phil Rizzuto, one of the most beloved Yankee Icons of all time. He was a great player, and won 7 world series as the anchor at short for the Yanks in the 40's and 50's.

That was before my time. I know him best as the announcer for Yankee broadcasts. It was like watching/listening to the game with your crazy old Uncle Phil. I will miss him dearly.

He broadcast Yankee games for 40 years. As a trivia question, who can tell me why he stopped, after 40 years? Why would he stop? He was an institution.

On a personal note, I got to meet the great Scooter once, some 20 odd years ago at my buddy Robert's wedding. It was in Bennington, VT, at one of these deals with a banquet hall on one side and a restaurant/dining room on the other. Rumor had it that Scooter's daughter owned the place.

Sure enough, when we wandered across the dining room, on the way to the john, there was the great man, having dinner with his wife Cora and friends. Naturally, we dove in, interrupted his dinner and told him what a tremendous Yankee fanatic our buddy Robert was.

Gracious does not even begin to describe the Scooter's response. He walked back to the reception hall, shook hands, made small talk, posed for pictures. Truly amazing.

Rest In Peace Scooter.