Yankees Great Phil Rizzuto Dies at 89

Phil Rizzuto discusses a collection of personal baseball memorabilia he consigned to Geppi's Memorabilia Road Show, during a news conference in New York, in this Feb. 2, 2006 file photo. 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 Aug. 14, 2007. He was 89. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens) (Kathy Willens - AP)

NEW YORK -- His speed and spunk made him a Hall of Famer. "Holy cow!" made Phil Rizzuto famous. Popular as a player and beloved as a broadcaster, the New York Yankees shortstop during their dynasty years of the 1940s and 1950s died Monday night. "The Scooter" was 89.

Rizzuto had pneumonia and died in his sleep at a nursing home in West Orange, N.J., daughter Patricia Rizzuto said Tuesday. He had been in declining health for several years.

"I guess heaven must have needed a shortstop," Yankees owner George Steinbrenner said in a statement. "He epitomized the Yankee spirit _ gritty and hard charging _ and he wore the pinstripes proudly."

Rizzuto was the oldest living Hall of Famer and his Cooperstown plaque noted how he "overcame diminutive size." At 5-foot-6, he played over his head, winning seven World Series titles and an AL MVP award and becoming a five-time All-Star.

"When I first came up to the Yankees, he was like a big _ actually, small _ brother to me," said Hall of Famer Yogi Berra, who frequently visited Rizzuto in his later years.

Rizzuto's No. 10 was retired by baseball's most storied team, and the club will wear his number on its left sleeves for the rest of the season.

The flags at Yankee Stadium were lowered to half-staff before Tuesday night's game against Baltimore and flowers were placed by Rizzuto's plaque at Monument Park.

Public address announcer Bob Sheppard detailed some of Rizzuto's accomplishments before the team observed a pregame moment of silence. His number was painted on the grass in front of each dugout and marquees outside the stadium said "Phil Rizzuto 1917-2007"

"Scooter, we will miss you," Sheppard said as a video tribute aired on the scoreboard.

New York also showed highlights from Rizzuto's playing career and part of his Hall of Fame induction speech before the bottom half of the first inning.

Yet it was after he moved into the broadcast booth that Rizzuto reached a new level celebrity with another generation of Yankees fans.

Rizzuto delighted TV and radio listeners for four decades, his voice dripping with his native Brooklyn. He loved his favorite catch-phrase _ exclaiming "Holy cow!" when Roger Maris hit his 61st home run _ and often shouted "What a huckleberry!"