24 JULY 26, 2018 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
OUR NEIGHBORHOOD: THE WAY IT WAS
The ‘Glendale Gnome’ who became a Yankee legend
BY THE OLD TIMER
EDITORIAL@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
We can’t think of an athlete
who grew up in the Greater
Ridgewood area who accomplished
more than Phil Rizzuto.
Most readers today remember him
from his days in the broadcast booth,
when the lovable “Scooter” called Yankees
games for WPIX-TV. Of course,
that was only the second chapter of
Rizzuto’s Yankee life; the fi rst was his
distinguished career on the diamond,
where #10 made the All-Star team fi ve
times and helped the Bronx Bombers
win seven World Championships in
12 seasons between 1941 and 1956 (he
spent three years in combat during
World War II).
Few, however, may realize that
Rizzuto, who was born in Brooklyn,
spent his formative years in Glendale.
He went to Richmond Hill High School,
where he became a star on both the
baseball diamond and the football
gridiron.
Despite his diminutive size, he was
big on heart and talent. Scouts realized
he was something special, and in 1937,
the Yankees signed Rizzuto to a free
agent contract. He would eventually
be assigned to the Kansas City Blues,
the Yankees’ farm team in the minor
league American Association. There
he demonstrated that he had what it
takes to contribute to the Yankees’
success in the big leagues.
The Ridgewood Times, in its July
25, 1941, issue, profi led one special
achievement Rizzuto earned: The
Sporting News Trophy as the Most
Valuable Player for the American
Association in 1940. Rizzuto received
the honor prior to the start of the July
22, 1941 game between the New York
Yankees and Cleveland Indians, amid
Rizzuto’s fi rst full season in pinstripes.
Although Yankee broadcaster Mel
Allen would eventually give Rizzuto
the “Scooter” nickname that stuck
with him in Yankee lore, Ridgewood
Times readers knew of Rizzuto by several
other nicknames, as you’ll see in
the July 25, 1941, report:
“The Flea, who replaced the veteran
Frankie Crosetti this year in the short
fi eld, took part in 140 double plays
with Kansas City last campaign, and
was the only player in the AA to make
200 hits.
“Glendale’s little package of dynamite
was given the award by Newbold
Morris, president of the City Council.
Rizzuto celebrated with a brace of singles
and a stolen base as the Yankees
won, 4-3.
“Now in his 22nd year, Rizzuto lives
at 78-01 64th St. His fi ve-feet-six inches
and 160 pounds make him the smallest
ballplayer in the Big League.
“With the Yankees, Rizzuto is batting
well over the .310 mark, second only tot
he Yankee Clipper, Joe DiMaggio, who
is blasting away in the .370s. Afi eld Lil’
Phil has played a brilliant game and
is considered by some experts as the
‘rookie of the year.’
“The Glendale Gnome is a product
of the Richmond Hill High School
baseball squad. With Gerry Priddy,
he combined to become the outstanding
double play combination of the
Mid-West.
“The diminutive diamond demon
batted .347 last season and fi elded .949.
He also led the league in stolen bases.”
Rizzuto fi nished his 1941 campaign
with 158 hits in 515 at bats, good for a
.307 batting average. The article pointed
out DiMaggio’s .370 batting average;
the article was published just a few
days aft er DiMaggio’s historic 56-game
hitting streak was snapped.
But Rizzuto’s best season wouldn’t
come until 1950, when he won the Most
Valuable Player award. That year, Rizzuto
had 200 hits in 735 and scored 125
runs, while also helping the Yankees
win the second of fi ve consecutive
World Championships between 1949
and 1953.
Aft er retiring, Rizzuto joined the
Yankee broadcast booth, where generations
of baseball fans would grow to
love him for his excitement over great
plays (“Holy cow!”), malapropisms and
stories of his playing days. His most
famous call came on the last day of the
1961 season, as Roger Maris hit his 61st
home run of the campaign, breaking
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
Phil Rizzuto demonstrates bunting during a camp in Florida
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