Holy Cow!
That’s the only reaction you could have to the news that Phil Rizzuto, as legendary for his malaprops in the New York Yankees broadcast booth as he was for a career that included an MVP award in 1950, has died. Rizzuto, who was 89, played with the Yankees from 1941 through 1956 (not including 1944-46, when he was in the Pacific with the U.S. Navy during World War II) and broadcast their games until 1996.
According to Bloomberg’s obituary, Rizzuto turned down an offer from the Orioles to broadcast their games – accepting an offer from the Yankees that was worth less money – because he had just opened up a bowling alley with teammate Yogi Berra.
Can you imagine Rizzuto teamed with Chuck Thompson? In another Baltimore connection, Rizzuto spent more than 20 years as a commercial spokesman for The Money Store, before he was replaced by former Oriole and fellow Hall-of-Famer Jim Palmer in 1993.
-ED WALDMAN, Managing Editor, Business
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
The Scooter and Baltimore
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
What a booth that would have been! It's a shame players today don't have the "personality" had then. Yogi, Scooter and God knows who else would have had media coaches or never allowed to broadcast.
Another Baltimore connection: On the show Seinfeld, George drops a Phil Rizutto key chain into a pothole which is then paved over. Everyone that steps on it hears his famous "Holy Cow!" In a later scene, as George is trying to get it out, Elaine walks by and nods at her friend. Elaine, as Seinfeld fans will remember, was from Towson.
Post a Comment