Phil Rizzuto, R.I.P.

Sad news about the passing of Phil Rizzuto today at the age of 89. Sure he was a great Yankee shortstop and Hall of Famer. But, I remember him as a broadcaster. As a kid, I used to love his radio play-by-play on WABC-AM's Yankees broadcasts. Of course, he also rotated into the TV broadcast booth, but he always seemed better on the radio. I still remember his "huckleberry" and "Holy Cow" catch phrases.

When my family moved to the Great Lakes region and started getting WGN on our cable, I always wondered who this Harry Carey guy was ripping off the "Holy Cow" thing. I don't know who started using it first, but I like to think it was Rizzuto.

Rizzuto helped make me a baseball fan, and it's probably no coincidence that my interest waned after we moved and I could no longer hear is broadcasts.