NY Yankees Legend Phil Rizzuto Dies Aged 89

SI Story

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 liked Rizzuto, though I knew him as a broadcaster, not as a player. I actually had a close encounter with him when the Yankees were sharing Shea Stadium during the rebuilding of Yankee Stadium. I'd gone out to see a game with friends. We were walking in from the parking lot to the stadium and they were a bit behind me. I went to cross the road and almost got run over by somebody speeding. I turned around to give the driver my thoughts on the subject and it was Phil Rizzuto! I did get an apology and an autograph out of it though!

R.I.P Phil