Holy Cow!
I really mourned when Phil Rizzutto died. I really wanted to meet him and get an autograph with the inscription “Holy Cow,” not to mention have an interview with him about his life.
The cartoon was a rush job, which is why I decided to draw him from the back. There were a lot of “Holy Cow” cartoons around the time too, another example of the collective consciousness. The first person Scooter would meet probably would be the “Holy Cow” but my line of thought would be what their reactions would be upon seeing each other as in “It’s a Holy Cow!” and “Holy Cow! It’s you!” Being heavily influenced by the movie “Field of Dreams” I also decided to place Scooter’s heaven on a baseball field at the shortstop position, and the idea of a holy cow grazing in the outfield really just makes me laugh.
Geoff the Ref
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
"Geoff the Ref"
Remembering Rizzuto
By Geoff Walter / SNY.tv
Billy Martin once said that it wasn't the size of the man in the fight, but the size of the fight in the man. Phil Rizzuto wasn't the tallest of men, but he did have a drive in him to overcome and achieve what others said he couldn't. When Rizzuto tried out for his favorite team -- the Brooklyn Dodgers -- Casey Stengel told him that at his height the only thing he'd ever be good at was being a shoeshine boy. On his way to the Hall of Fame, Scooter was later named an MVP and earned seven World Series titles.
I was never old enough to see Scooter play during his career, only knowing him through his time as a broadcaster for WPIX 11, as did other generations of fans who grew up listening to his one of a kind play-by-play style. He may have been considered a homer by many in the media elite, but I ask you, who would you rather have in the broadcast booth? A robotic, by-the-book announcer who catered to award committees or one who was truly unique and whom the fans -- the ones that truly matter -- adored? After the 1996 season, Rizzuto left the broadcast booth, and he largely became one of the satellite Yankees in my mind, as one from an era long gone by, showing up every once in a while on Old Timers' Day or during the playoffs to throw out the first pitch.
One day when I was in the press box of the Staten Island Yankees, one of the other writers casually wondered aloud how they came up with the bovine mascot's name: Scooter. As I recall, he thought that because the mascot rode around on a moped after a win was the reason. I was at first shocked and appalled, not that he needed some explanation, but because he confessed to being a huge Yankee fan. I prompted him with questions about Rizzuto, helping him put the pieces together, and it finally dawned on him that Scooter the Holy Cow was the conglomeration of Rizzuto's nickname and the call he always gave as a broadcaster. Still, I was a bit saddened that he was not able to put the pieces together without some coaxing, and that some of the history of the team he professed to be a fan of had seemingly fallen by the wayside. But I too had not had a greater appreciation for what Rizzuto meant until after I had decided to do some investigating on my own, and began to relish the few Old Timers' Days he had left, the final one being in 2005. I hope many more make the same discovery I did.
Holy Cow Phil, we'll miss you.
Wanna argue with the Ref? Don't like the call? Go ahead and make your own!
