This Bostonian tips his cap to a departed Yankee.

[spatch]

"Here's the windup, fastball, hit deep to right, this could be it! Way back there! Holy cow, he did it! Sixty-one for Maris! And look at the fight for that ball out there! Holy cow, what a shot! Another standing ovation for Maris, and they're still fighting for that ball out there, climbing over each other's backs. One of the greatest sights I've ever seen here at Yankee Stadium!"

- Phil Rizzuto calling Roger Maris' record-breaking 61st home run, asterisks bedamned, on October 1, 1961.

"If we'd had [Phil] Rizzuto in Boston, we'd have won all those pennants instead of New York."

- Ted Williams, campaigning for Rizzuto's inclusion in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

After many years of always-bridesmaiding-never-briding, Scooter was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1994. The oldest living Hall of Famer died today at the age of 89.

Scooter's made it over the GWB for the last time. Godspeed.

Comments

[kpht.livejournal.com]

I only know who he is because of Billy Madison. Is that bad?

[spatch]

It could be worse; you could've only remembered him for his Money Store commercials.

[fancycwabs.livejournal.com]

Or "Paradise By The Dashboard Light."

[dskasak.livejournal.com]

*shudders*

Thanks to hearing that song 3-4 times a night for three nights out of nearly every college weekend, I cannot hear the song or see it mentioned without becoming quite uncomfortable. Thanks, Mr. Loaf!

[fancycwabs.livejournal.com]

They must have FedExed the record back and forth between Cornell College and Georgia Tech. Or I guess they could have had two copies or something.

[dskasak.livejournal.com]

Two copies, and plenty of unimaginative, drunken Greeks braying along after a few pitchers of beer. At least Georgia Tech had more than two bars for college students to frequent, which is what I dealt with in Mount Vernon, IA (pop. tire 3500). If you went out to the bars, you could not escape the damn song.

[mhaille.livejournal.com]

Is it wrong that that was the first thing I thought of?

[kissoflife.livejournal.com]

thirded re: the Money Store. It must be a sore spot with the family, not mentioned once in major obit columns(that I've seen).

[(Anonymous)]

Remember when we used to call up the Money Store and ask to talk to Scooter? Ah ... yeah, we were losers.

Noah

[dskasak.livejournal.com]

I've always linked Phil Rizzuto with Paul Lazzaro; maybe Vonnegut had him in mind when trying to name the character who killed Billy Pilgrim?

[ron_newman]

I've never watched a local Yankees telecast in NYC, but his name is still very familiar. Did he announce on national TV as well?

[qxam.livejournal.com]

So did Harry Caray lift the "holy cow" thing from Rizzuto?

[spatch]

That was a point of contention between the two, actually. Caray claimed he'd used it on the air first; Rizzuto claimed he'd always used the phrase on-air and off because he didn't cuss.

It's a good thing neither of them tried "How about that!" on the air because Mel Allen would've been Mighty Disappointed In Them. I can't see Allen being anything beyond "disappointed", he was such a congenial fellow.