Brewers PR director remembers Phil Rizzuto

The death of former Yankees shortstop and broadcaster Phil Rizzuto was given brief treatment in newspapers across the country.

In New York, it went beyond a front-page story.

Rizzuto, who was 89, was a Yankees icon. Known as "Scooter," he thrilled a generation of fans with his scrappy play at shortstop (13 seasons, seven World Series titles and an American League MVP award in 1950) and then became a fixture for two generations on the broadcasts, where humorous catch phrases like "Holy Cow!" kept fans laughing for 40 years.

Imagine how popular Bob Uecker is around these parts. Now, spread that love across a population as huge as New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, then add a few decades to the love affair...

You get the idea.

"I am terribly saddened by the death of Phil Rizzuto," Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement released from his Milwaukee office. "Phil was a unique figure who exemplified the joy of our game to millions of fans. He was an integral part of the New York Yankees throughout the 1940s and 1950s before bringing his distinctive personality and his infectious enthusiasm to the broadcast booth. On behalf of Major League Baseball, I express my deepest sympathy to his wife, Cora, his family and his legions of fans everywhere."

Mike Vassallo, the Brewers director of media relations, had a special connection to Rizzuto and was hit hard by the news of his death.

In June, 1995, Vassallo -- then a college junior majoring in broadcasting -- was working a summer job at a large pharmaceutical company and befriended an elevator operator named Andy, who also worked at Yankee Stadium.

One night, Vassallo scored tickets to a Yankees game and, uncertain which subway trains to take, asked if he could tag along with Andy to the Bronx and perhaps get an autograph from Rizzuto, who was one of his heroes.

"As soon as he signed my baseball, Phil told Andy ‘My assistant never shows up any more. I think I'm going to have to get a new one,'" Vassallo said. "I actually raised my hand and said ‘I'll do it for free.' Andy told Phil that I would do a good job and I spent the rest of the summer as Phil's assistant in the booth. I'd get him coffee and cannoli. I'd keep score for him during the innings he was off the air.

"I did a bunch of things and when I went back to school that fall, I put on my resume, Personal assistant to Phil Rizzuto, Summer, 1995. It's still there today, in fact, and that helped me get an internship with the Yankees media relations department in 1997. That led to my job in Cincinnati and then the job that I have now.

"I started to think of all the things I've done and all the opportunities I've had and it never would have happened if it wasn't for Phil giving me a chance. When I thought about what he meant to me, I had to close the door to my office for a few minutes."

Vassallo will travel with the Brewers next week but hopes to attend the memorial service for Rizzuto.

"I really want to be there to thank him one last time," he said.