I have told this story before, but it is probably worth repeating today.

I was returning from the States with my family by air perhaps 10 years ago.  We arrived at a short Customs and Immigration lineup, and I looked in front of me and there was Scooter Rizzuto.  He approached the desk, and handed over his documents.  The officer asked him whether the purpose of his trip was business or pleasure.  He replied: "both, I am here to broadcast a baseball game". 

One of my favourite Yankees and there aren't many of them. I remember as a kid being able to get the Yankee broadcasts on WUTV Buffalo 29, which has sadly since been devoured by the FOX parasites. He was one of a kind in the booth and he definitely had a lot of fun with Bill White (among others I think). I watched the infamous "Pine Tar" game on a Sunday afternoon on that channel and a Dave Stieb 143 pitch effort (that's a guess, but he did face 40 batters!) on a rainy Friday night in the Bronx Zoo. May there be lots of canolies (sp?) wherever you're headed Scooter. I know everyone will have a good time due to your arrival. A truly larger than life personality.

Some of the Scooter's Selected Verse (From "O Holy Cow: The  Selected Verse of Phil Rizzuto" - found poetry from his broadcasts.)

The Bridge

Two balls and a strike.
You know what they had on TV today, White?
Bridge on the River Kwai
Everybody should have gotten an Academy Award for
that movie.
I don't know how many times I've seen it.
About forty times.
Alec Guinness!
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.

He was always the smallest guy on the field, but he was one helluva shortstop.

They didn't call him "Scooter" for nothing. He will surely be missed by all.

Channel 29 in the mid-1980's, that's the few times I heard the Scooter also.  Yankee home games started at 8pm back then.  They had an expression, "ten o'clock thunder", for their offense, about when the opposing starter would get tired, I suppose.  Bill White was the other announcer, who later became NL president.  The centre-field camera was in right-centre rather than left-centre.

I recall after the Jays beat the Yanks in 1985, the Scooter said he was cheering for the Jays in the playoffs, and after the loss to the Royals, he said he was so disappointed he couldn't even watch the World Series.

Very friendly and memorable personality.