Scooter R.I.P.

Phil "The Scooter" Rizzuto is gone. While he'd been in poor health for years, it is still a little bit of a shock. I spent the latter half of the 1970s listening to Rizzuto cover Yankee games and moonlight for Meatloaf in one of the most memorable cameos on vinyl ever!!!

Scooter wasn't exactly the sharpest analyst in the broadcast booth but he had a relaxing manner and I can think of fewer happier memories than listening to him and Bill White and Frank Messer calling games in the summer of 78. I thought Rizzuto was going to have a heart attack when Bucky jacked one over the green monster. I swear he said he was pissing in his pants. Maybe it wasn't him, maybe it was me. Memories are a weird thing. Back then, unless I've lost it completely, the commentators would rotate between the TV and radio booth and I'm pretty sure Rizzuto was on the radio when Dent hit the homer. And why was I listening to the radio instead of watching it on TV? I was out in the street playing with some other kids. At least that is the way I remember it but maybe I'm wrong. I'm pretty sure we got out of school, went to a friend's house (actually I didn't like this kid, but anyway) and we were playing ball on Godfrey Road.

If it turns out I'm way off on who was in the radio booth at that time or way off and it turns out I wasn't even on Godfrey but actually stuck in the small apartment on Roosevelt Place, don't tell me. I'd rather live in the false memory.

Anyway, this is a long way of saying goodbye to Scooter!