Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Another hero from my youth...

clipped from news.yahoo.com



AP

Yankees great Phil Rizzuto dies at 89


By BEN WALKER, AP Baseball Writer


NEW YORK - 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.

In an age of broadcasters who spout statistics, Rizzuto was a storyteller. He liked to talk about things such as his fear of lightning, the style of an umpire's shoes or even the prospect of outfielder Dave Winfield as a candidate for president.

Rizzuto's popularity was such that at a recent auction a Rizzuto cap embedded with a wad of chewing gum sold for more than $8,000. In the New York area, Rizzuto's antics became a staple for TV ads. Nonbaseball fans got to know him, too, when his voice appeared on Meat Loaf's rock hit "Paradise by the Dashboard Light."

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