The Record Lives

“Take, my lad, what the great game gives,
For all men die, but the record lives.”
-Grantland Rice, New York Herald-Tribune

Phil Rizzuto – 1917-2007 – took everything from the game and gave even more back.

He was a seven-time World Champion and a five-time All-Star. He was the American League MVP in 1950 and the World Series MVP in 1951. He is a Hall of Famer and that’s all anyone really needs to know.

We’ve heard from his teammates and his friends and his family, but Rizzuto was so much more than that. He was a teammate and a friend to the Bronx and Manhattan and Brooklyn and Queens and he was family everywhere there were Yankee fans.

Everyone has a story because Rizzuto gave far more than he took and there is no greater complement you can give a man.

“For when the One Great Scorer comes
To write against your name,
He marks not that you won or lost,
But how you played the Game.”
-Grantland Rice, New York Herald-Tribune