Old-timers still talk about his suicide squeeze in the ninth inning during the 1951 pennant race to score DiMaggio, beating Cleveland 2-1 and putting the Yankees in first place for the rest of the season. His idiosyncratic style and unpredictable digressions charmed listeners, while his lively play-by-play brought a distinct energy to his broadcasts. The disarray had to end. Rizzuto said the collection of at least 1,000 pieces is "something I'm very proud of, yet I'm a little scared. Both times, this caused White, standing to Rizzuto's left, to burst out in laughter. Alongside his broadcasts for the Yankees, Rizzuto hosted a 5-minute weekday evening sports show ("It's Sports Time with Phil Rizzuto") on the CBS Radio Network, from 1957 to 1977. In his decades on the radio and TV, Rizzuto’s favorite phrase was “Holy cow!” It became so common, the team presented him with a cow wearing a halo when they held a day in his honor in 1985.
In that day's game, future broadcast partner Tom Seaver recorded his 300th career victory.
The Hall of Fame is for the big guys, pitchers with 100 mph fastballs and hitters who sock homers and drive in a lot of runs. Rizzuto was survived by his wife, Cora (who died in 2010), daughters Cindy Rizzuto, Patricia Rizzuto and Penny Rizzuto Yetto, son Phil Rizzuto Jr., and two granddaughters. Throughout his career, his birth year was reported as 1918 in The Sporting News, the Baseball Register, and the American League Red Book; later reference sources revised the year to 1917, indicating his age at the time of his death to be 89. ESPN reported that the photo of Jeter and Rizzuto taken that evening is one of Jeter's most prized possessions. Rizzuto later described the encounter: "That big thing stepped right on my shoe and pushed me backwards, like a karate move." Sixty-one for Maris! As dramatic a finish as you'd ever want to see! He liked to acknowledge birthdays and anniversaries, read notes from fans, praised the baked delicacies at his favorite restaurant and send messages to old cronies. In September 2006, Rizzuto's 1950 MVP plaque fetched $175,000, three of his World Series rings sold for $84,825, and a Yankee cap with a wad of chewing gum on it went for $8,190. Yankees manager Casey Stengel had famously dismissed Rizzuto during that Brooklyn Dodgers tryout in 1935 when Stengel was managing that team, advising him to "go get a shoeshine box." And if he missed a play, he would scribble “ww” in his scorecard box score. Penny Rizzuto. Rizzuto also became known for saying "Unbelievable!"
"[31] During his last extensive interview, on WFAN radio in late 2005, Rizzuto revealed that he had an operation where much of his stomach was removed and that he was being treated with medical steroids, a subject he joked about in light of baseball's performance-enhancing drugs scandal. ", Patricia Rizzuto, who works for Conair, a company founded by another clan of Rizzutos, said her family wanted to sell the items "while he's alive, so he can thank his fans for the loyalty they've shown him.". But each time they said, ‘No, we might need him.’ We started to go through the list a second time, and then half way through it dawned on me.”. Rizzuto was signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1937. [31], On September 12, 2006, the New York Post revealed that Rizzuto was currently in a "private rehab facility, trying to overcome muscle atrophy and problems with his esophagus.
He was eventually persuaded to return for one more season in 1996[23] where he called another Yankee shortstop protégé, Derek Jeter's first home run.