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Who is Phil Rizzuto?  
PEOPLE 

Tags: Phil Rizzuto, baseball, Yankees, player, announcer, MLB, call, booth

Phil Rizzuto, the Hall of Fame shortstop during the Yankees' dynasty years and beloved by a generation of fans for exclaiming "Holy cow!'' as a broadcaster, died Tuesday, August 13, 2007. He was 89. Here is a concise summary of his great life:

	Born - Rizzuto was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of a streetcar motorman. While most sources have listed his birth date as September, 25 1918, he admitted many years ago that he had cut a year off his birth date early in his career after players told him it would add a year to his career. His actual birth year was 1916.
	Little Guy, Big Heart - Despite his diminutive size — usually listed during his playing career as five feet, six inches tall and 160 pounds — he played both baseball and football at Richmond Hill High School in Queens.
	Drafted (twice)- Rizzuto was selected by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1937. He played his first major-league game on April 14, 1941. He played for the Yankees for his entire 13-year career, almost exclusively as a shortstop. Like many baseball players, his career was interrupted by a stint in the United States Navy during World War II. From 1943 through 1945, he played on the Navy's baseball team.
	Baseball Accomplishments - Rizzuto was voted Most Valuable Player by a large margin in the American League in 1950, and was the runner-up for the award in 1949. He played in five All-Star Games, in 1942 and each year from 1950 to 1953. In 1950, he won the Hickok Belt, awarded to the top professional athlete of the year. In 1950, his MVP season, he hit .324 with 92 walks, and scored 125 runs. Rizzuto also handled 238 consecutive chances without an error that season, setting the record for shortstops.
	'Holy Cow" - Beginning the year after his retirement, Rizzuto joined the Yankees broadcast team. Ballantine Beer, the Yankees' broadcasting sponsor, insisted that the team hire him. General manager George Weiss was forced to fire Jim Woods to make room for him in the booth. Rizzuto broadcast Yankee games on radio and television for the next 40 years. His popular catchphrase was "Holy cow." Although Harry Caray was punctuating his broadcasts with the phrase even while Rizzuto was still playing, Rizzuto once claimed he'd been saying it his whole life, instead of using profanity.
	Death - When Rizzuto did not attend the annual New York Yankees Old Timers Day in 2006, questions were raised about his health. On September 12, 2006, the New York Post revealed that Rizzuto is currently in a "private rehab facility, trying to overcome muscle atrophy and problems with his esophagus." During an interview on WFAN, Rizzuto revealed that he was being treated with medical steroids. Phil Rizzuto passed away on August 13, 2007. His death was confirmed by the Yankees. Rizzuto had been in declining health for several years and was living at a nursing home in West Orange, New Jersey.
	Remembered - Rizzuto will forever be remembered for having "enjoyed two outstanding careers, all-time Yankee shortstop, one of the great Yankee broadcasters." The Yankees retired Rizzuto's number 10 in a ceremony at Yankee Stadium on August 4, 1985. During this ceremony, he was also given a plaque to be placed in Yankee Stadium's Monument Park.

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