Phil Rizzuto
Philip Francis Rizzuto, AKA "The Scooter." Played his first game for the New York Yankees in April 1941; retired in 1956. Inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame in 1994. After retiring from the field Rizzuto was an announcer for the Yankees.
Surely one of the most beloved personalities in baseball, The Scooter died last week at the age of 89. Generations of fans remember him fondly, first as the incredibly fast little guy chasing balls on the diamond, then as the slightly, uh, well, let's say as a broadcaster he had a style all his own.
But DIH reveres him as one of the greatest American poets.
In 1993 two of his fans,Tom Peyer and Hart Seeley, put their finger on the secret to the Scooter's one of a kind style: Every game he narrated, he narrated in blank verse.
Peyer and Seeley published some of the Scooter's finest work in the collection, "O Holy Cow: The Selected Verse of Phil Rizzuto." (Hopewell, NJ: The Ecco Press, 1993.)
In memory of the Scooter, DIH shares some of his poetry today.
[May 5, 1987. New York at Chicago. Joe Niekro pitcheing to Carlton Fisk. Second inning, no outs, bases mepty, no score.]
"The Bridge"
Two balls and a strike.
You knwo what they had on TV today, White?
'Bridge on the River Kwai.'
Everybody should have gotten an Academy Award for that movie.
I dont' know how manytimes I've seen it.
About forty times.
Alec Guiness!
William Holden!
Three and one the count.
I just heard somebody whistle.
You know that song?
That's what they whistle.
Nobody out.
And he pops it up.
[June 27, 1991. New York at Boston. Wade Taylor pitching to Tony Pena. Seventh inning, no outs, bases mepty. Ynakees lead 8-0.]
"F.Y.I."
A little high
Two balls
No strikes.
Riverview Medical Center
Is down the Jersey Shore.
Three balls
No strikes.
[August 14, 1992. New York at Chicago. Alex Fernandez pithcing to Matt Nokes. Seventh inning, two out, bases empty. White Sox lead 2-0]
"Observation"
You know,
I was just thinking.
It's tough
To evatualte players
When you're out
On the golf course.
And finally, one that is especially dear to DIH's heart. for reasons regular readers of this blog will understand:
[June 7, 1991. Texas at New York. Joyhn Habyan pitching to Steve Buechele. Ninth inning, one out, bases empty. Tie score 4-4]
"Squirrels"
I.
In the backyard we got a lot of trees.
In our home I've watched them leap
From limb to limb.
Unbelievable.
II.
Did you ever get one in your attic?
They're not too cute
When they get in your attic,
I'll tell you that.
III.
I would not harm a squirrel.
I don't want to get those animal lovers...
I got them in my attic.
No, I got,
But I got a squirrel cage
And trapped them in the cage
Then took them out in the woods
Over by Yogi's house
And dropped them off.
Rest in peace, Scooter. You spread a lot of joy.
Surely one of the most beloved personalities in baseball, The Scooter died last week at the age of 89. Generations of fans remember him fondly, first as the incredibly fast little guy chasing balls on the diamond, then as the slightly, uh, well, let's say as a broadcaster he had a style all his own.
But DIH reveres him as one of the greatest American poets.
In 1993 two of his fans,Tom Peyer and Hart Seeley, put their finger on the secret to the Scooter's one of a kind style: Every game he narrated, he narrated in blank verse.
Peyer and Seeley published some of the Scooter's finest work in the collection, "O Holy Cow: The Selected Verse of Phil Rizzuto." (Hopewell, NJ: The Ecco Press, 1993.)
In memory of the Scooter, DIH shares some of his poetry today.
[May 5, 1987. New York at Chicago. Joe Niekro pitcheing to Carlton Fisk. Second inning, no outs, bases mepty, no score.]
"The Bridge"
Two balls and a strike.
You knwo what they had on TV today, White?
'Bridge on the River Kwai.'
Everybody should have gotten an Academy Award for that movie.
I dont' know how manytimes I've seen it.
About forty times.
Alec Guiness!
William Holden!
Three and one the count.
I just heard somebody whistle.
You know that song?
That's what they whistle.
Nobody out.
And he pops it up.
[June 27, 1991. New York at Boston. Wade Taylor pitching to Tony Pena. Seventh inning, no outs, bases mepty. Ynakees lead 8-0.]
"F.Y.I."
A little high
Two balls
No strikes.
Riverview Medical Center
Is down the Jersey Shore.
Three balls
No strikes.
[August 14, 1992. New York at Chicago. Alex Fernandez pithcing to Matt Nokes. Seventh inning, two out, bases empty. White Sox lead 2-0]
"Observation"
You know,
I was just thinking.
It's tough
To evatualte players
When you're out
On the golf course.
And finally, one that is especially dear to DIH's heart. for reasons regular readers of this blog will understand:
[June 7, 1991. Texas at New York. Joyhn Habyan pitching to Steve Buechele. Ninth inning, one out, bases empty. Tie score 4-4]
"Squirrels"
I.
In the backyard we got a lot of trees.
In our home I've watched them leap
From limb to limb.
Unbelievable.
II.
Did you ever get one in your attic?
They're not too cute
When they get in your attic,
I'll tell you that.
III.
I would not harm a squirrel.
I don't want to get those animal lovers...
I got them in my attic.
No, I got,
But I got a squirrel cage
And trapped them in the cage
Then took them out in the woods
Over by Yogi's house
And dropped them off.
Rest in peace, Scooter. You spread a lot of joy.
This is priceless stuff. My late maternal grandmother used to be a HUGE Yankees fan, dating back to "Murderer's Row."
ReplyDeleteSo yeah, that kinda hit me when Phil Rizzuto died.
-J.
P.S. And WTH was up with his making it to Cooperstown in 1994?
That's a great book and one I was sorry not to find in the library I work in. I remember hearing some of that "verse" live--as the night after Thurman Munson died in '79. But my favorite broadcast was more prosaic. During a game in the late 70s against the Royals, Rizzuto confused Roy, Frank, Bill (his co-announcer) and, for all I know Jerry (o.k., he played in Montreal) White. In frustration he finally blurted out "There's just too many Whites on the field." Bill White replied: "Scooter, I know exactly how you feel."
ReplyDelete