Phil Rizzuto has passed away at the age of 89.

There are tons and tons of stories about what a character Phil Rizzuto was. But to this day when I'm keeping score at a ballgame (I always keep score), when I get up to get a hot dog or glance away from the action and miss something, I always put "WW" into the scorebox like Phil did. I learned to keep score with him on the air.

How about when the Pope died in 1978, and Phil announced to the home audience, "Pope John Paul I is dead. Sure puts a damper on a Yankee win?"

Or when he was giving his Hall of Fame induction speech and he stopped in the middle of his speech to ask former broadcast partner and president of the National League Bill White to help him remember a word?

He was the king of unintentional comedy. And a total character. He'll be missed.

Labels: New York Yankees, sports, the Scooter