Rizzuto Stands By Retirement

Holy cow! After thinking it over for five days, Phil Rizzuto has decided to stick by his decision to end his 39-year broadcasting career with the New York Yankees.

“It’s time for me to go,” he said Wednesday. “I haven’t been on top of the game like I used to.”

Rizzuto, a Hall of Fame shortstop with the Yankees, said last Friday he was quitting partly because WPIX-TV wouldn’t let him attend former teammate Mickey Mantle’s funeral in Dallas.

But the beloved broadcaster backed away from that statement Wednesday, saying he had initially agreed with the station’s decision to send fellow broadcaster Bobby Murcer to represent WPIX at the funeral.

However, after watching Mantle’s funeral on television last Tuesday, Rizzuto became so upset that he had to leave the booth during a Yankees’ telecast that night.

“When I saw the services, I realized what a big mistake I had made (by not attending the funeral),” said Rizzuto, who will turn 78 next month. “But I had nobody to blame but myself.”

Rizzuto, whose folksy broadcasting style included frequent cries of ‘Holy cow!’ and birthday greetings to fans, said he had been thinking about retiring even before Mantle died.

Rizzuto played for New York from 1941-56, appeared in 10 World Series and was the American League MVP in 1950.

Rizzuto was joined at the Yankee Stadium news conference by Michael Eigner, executive vice president and general manager of WPIX.

Eigner said it was too early to talk about possible replacements for Rizzuto, who was part of a three-man team at WPIX with Murcer and former Spokane broadcaster Paul Olden.