BAMBINO: What can I say... I grew up on the The Scooter. Not Scooter the Shortstop, but Scooter the legendary voice of the Yanks on WPIX in NY. I'll never forget the days in the mid and late '70's when Rizzuto, Bill White, and Frank Messer did the play by play for the Bronx Bombers on TV and the radio.
I know he was a bit of a Homer as a Broadcaster (he was a Big Homer), but as a Yankee fan, I loved his style. He made watching a game on TV fun. He was one of those guys that was blatantly biased but got away with it because his love for the Yankees was genuine. Can you picture Scooter doing the play by play for the FOX Game of the Week in a game the Yanks weren't playing in? He was made to call the Yanks! Nowadays, all you get is the canned corporate media fluff that tries to pass as a baseball broadcast.
His trademark was "Holy Cow!" which Harry Caray was using even while Rizzuto was still playing, but Scooter was using the term his entire life in lieu of profanity, so naturally it carried over into the booth. He had different versions of the Holy Cow. There was the euphoric "HOLY COW!!!" Like when Maris hit #61, then there was the nonchalant "holy cow...I thought that was gone." He lived a very clean life. He didn't drink, he didn't womanize, and he was a good family man. He served in the Navy in WWII. So he's an American Hero.
As a player, the Scooter played his entire 13 year career with the Yanks with the exception of 1943 through 1945 while serving in the war. He epitomized "small ball" for the Yanks during that era. Bunting, stealing, aggressvie baserunning, stellar defense, and timely hitting made Rizzuto one of the Yankee Greats. He won the AL MVP in 1950, was a 5-time All Star, and won seven World Series Rings. Rizzuto is in the top ten in several World Series categories, including games, hits, walks, runs, and steals.
After retiring when the Yanks released him in 1956, he went into the broadcasting booth for the 1957 season at the behest of Ballantine Beer. There he stayed for the next 36 years. Giving us monumental baseball moments:
- Roger Maris' 61st HR on October 1st, 1961 against the Red Sox at the Stadium; "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!"
- Chris Chambliss' game winning HR on October 14, 1976 against the Royals at the Stadium; "He hits one deep to right-center! That ball is out of here! The Yankees win the pennant! Holy cow, Chris Chambliss on one swing!" [As fans poured onto the field, tearing it up for souvenirs] "And the Yankees win the pennant. Unbelievable, what a finish! As dramatic a finish as you'd ever want to see! And this field will never be the same, but the Yankees have won it in the bottom of the 9th, seven to six!"
Other malapropisms and stream-of-consciousness commentary:
- "Uh-oh, deep to left-center, nobody's gonna get that one! Holy cow, somebody got it! Did you see that White? Holy cow...."
- "Bouncer to third, they'll never get him! No, why don't I just shut up!"
- "All right! Stay fair! No, it won't stay fair. Good thing it didn't stay fair, or I think he would've caught it!"
- "Oh, these Yankees can get the clutch hits, Murcer. I might have to go home early, I just got a cramp in my leg."
- "Well, that kind of puts the damper on even a Yankee win." upon learning of the death of Pope Paul VI.
I remember the Money Store commercials you'd see on Channel 11 at 3am "Phil Rizzuto for the Money Store" and the play by play double entendre during Meatloaf's "Paradise by the Dashboard Light. Scooter later called Meatloaf a Huckleberry for not telling him the real meaning of it.
As I said in my Clete Boyer tribute post, the Yankee family is getting old and it seems every year we lose some special people. Scooter's passing hurt but he did live a long life and I'll bet he was happy with the way he lived. No complaints. Say hello to the Bambino for me Scooter. Rest in Peace.
