O/T: RE: "SCOOTER"

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Lew Hodgett 19 years ago

It was announced yesterday that Phil "Scooter" Rizzuto had died.

It brought back my memories of the summer of 1948, the year I turned

11 and found out about Cleveland Indians baseball being broadcast on radio.

Erin Brew, a local brewery, long out of business, was a big sponsor that year.

Had moved into a brand new house in January, a house my father had designed, smack dab in the middle of a 2 acre woods, bordered by Little Apple Creek, made it a fabulous to grow up, but it also meant a lot of outdoor yard work.

That creek was a great place to explore when baseball wasn't being broadcast.

The Cleveland Indians games were broadcast on radio almost every day, and I listened to almost every one, since it usually meant I didn't have to work in the yard till the game was over.

Soon learned the team to be concerned about was the New York Yankees.

When the Indians/Yankees game was played in Yankee stadium, can still hear the Yankee stadium announcer's voice announce the line up, ".. and at shortstop, the captain of the Yankees, Phil, Scooter, Rizzuto."

The Indians won the World Series that year, just as I knew they would, oh the blind faith an 11 year old has for his team, but they fell apart the next year, never to reallt recover again.

I went on with my life, lost interest in the Indians, and developed other interests.

But, for one short summer, I lived the dream, my team were the champs.

Time moves on, but the memories shall remain.

Lew

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Patriarch 19 years ago

"Lew Hodgett" wrote in news:13c7ebpk3pg2f53 @corp.supernews.com:

I've always been a baseball fan.

My dad played, pretty well, as a youth. Well enough to have been offered a pro contract with the Cardinals, before I was born. He chose to repair airplanes and stay home with my mother, a choice they both thought best for 55 years. He umpired high school and college for over

35 years, as a part time thing, not really for the money. Just to stay involved.

In 1958, the Giants came to San Francisco. We went to the games at Seals Stadium, in the City, and then to Candlestick, and then to the new park on the edge of the City. The games are on the radio, and on the sattelite, and on the web, and they are enjoyable, even when the Giants aren't the best team in the division, like this year.

It's always been there, and we've always enjoyed it. I played softball for 25 years, and we raised sons to enjoy the game. One of them works in sports broadcasting, and works for both local teams, as well as a bunch of the other events in the area. He loves it.

He was there last week when the important numbered home run was hit, and ran the secret tape they'd had for several weeks already, that NO ONE knew about, where the reigning gentleman home run king congratulated the new numbers holder. Henry did it right. The new fellow, I don't know about so much.

I'm a National League fellow, and a West Coaster at that. Scooter was so much New York Yankee, that I never really got to understand just how well loved he was, how much a part of that tradition he was there. But I know we have our heroes here, and they have analogs there as well.

But we're baseball fans. Grand old game. Grand old folks.

Patriarch

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Lew Hodgett 19 years ago

"Patriarch" >

My dad was a Cards fan as a result of living there during his youth. I heard a lot about the "Gas House Gang".

1958, the year of "The Carpet Bagger".

Both the Giants and the Dodgers left New York for the greener pastures of the Left Coast.

When I think of the Giants, it is 1954 and the Giants beat the Indians in 4 straight to win the series.

After that, it was Monte Irvin and the "Say Hay Kid".

Met his father one night in the bar of a Holiday Inn in Cleveland, the year he played for the Indians.

Different kind of baseball in the American league. Strictly power, not fineese as played in the National.

Back then, the Yankees had DiMaggio, a SF guy, Mantle, Maris, Yoggi, and Whitey Ford, among others.

The Dodgers had Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, Gil Hodges, Carl Erskine, and a very good short stop whose name I can't remember(Brain fart).

It was a different game back then.

Yep.

Lew

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ROY! 19 years ago

I grew up in northern NJ, in the area where Scooter and Yogi lived and had their business ventures. Being within walking distance of the YooHoo factory we made daily pilgrimages there in hopes of getting a free YooHoo or a glimpse of Yogi and Scooter. Patronized their Rizzuto-Berra Lanes bowling alley on Rt46 in Clifton and would get a handshake every once in a while. Patronized the American Shops clothing stores on Rt 22 in Union and Rt46 in Lodi. Got to see them many times at those venues. Scooter is the modern day icon which many Yankee fans still consider the voice of the Yankees. I started missing him the day he retired from broadcasting. God bless Scooter.

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ROY! 19 years ago

A day never went by in my NJ schoolyard when there weren't heated arguments, which many times came to blows over who was the best centerfielder among the 3 NY area teams. Friends became enemies. Enemies became friends. But in the end, The Mick edged out Willie and the Duke. Statisticians purport that if the Mick was a Dodger, playing home games in the Ebbets field bandbox, he would have averaged better than 80 homers per year. Man, those were the days. Warm memories. My Dad, a huge Giants fan was devastated when they left town but he held on to the memories of '54 and Dusty Rhodes.

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