1917
Born September 25, 1917
Brooklyn, NY, USA
Phil Rizzuto Marquee Hall of Fame 1994
b. September 25, 1917 · New York Yankees 1941–1942, 1946–1956
He hit .307 as a rookie in 1941, and New York won the World Series. Then the Navy took 1943, 1944 and 1945 out of his career. He came back at twenty-eight and played eleven more seasons, finishing with 1,588 hits, 877 runs and 149 stolen bases.
His best season was 1950: 200 hits, a .324 average, 125 runs, 92 walks, the Most Valuable Player award and the Sporting News player of the year. He was chosen for five All-Star teams, and the Yankees won the pennant in ten of his thirteen seasons.
New York released him in the middle of the 1956 season and he went straight into the broadcast booth, where he stayed for the rest of his working life. The writers never gave him more than 149 votes of 388. The Veterans Committee elected him in 1994, thirty-eight years after his last game.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 5 | 1942, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953 |
| The Sporting News All-Star | 4 | 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952 |
| Babe Ruth Award | 1 | 1951 |
| Baseball Magazine All-Star | 1 | 1950 |
| Most Valuable Player | 1 | 1950 |
| The Sporting News Major League Player of the Year | 1 | 1950 |
| The Sporting News Player of the Year | 1 | 1950 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | NYY | 133 | 515 | 65 | 158 | 20 | 9 | 3 | 46 | 27 | 36 | 14 | .307 |
| 1942 | NYY | 144 | 553 | 79 | 157 | 24 | 7 | 4 | 68 | 44 | 40 | 22 | .284 |
| 1946 | NYY | 126 | 471 | 53 | 121 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 38 | 34 | 39 | 14 | .257 |
| 1947 | NYY | 153 | 549 | 78 | 150 | 26 | 9 | 2 | 60 | 57 | 31 | 11 | .273 |
| 1948 | NYY | 128 | 464 | 65 | 117 | 13 | 2 | 6 | 50 | 60 | 24 | 6 | .252 |
| 1949 | NYY | 153 | 614 | 110 | 169 | 22 | 7 | 5 | 65 | 72 | 34 | 18 | .275 |
| 1950 | NYY | 155 | 617 | 125 | 200 | 36 | 7 | 7 | 66 | 92 | 39 | 12 | .324 |
| 1951 | NYY | 144 | 540 | 87 | 148 | 21 | 6 | 2 | 43 | 58 | 27 | 18 | .274 |
| 1952 | NYY | 152 | 578 | 89 | 147 | 24 | 10 | 2 | 43 | 67 | 42 | 17 | .254 |
| 1953 | NYY | 134 | 413 | 54 | 112 | 21 | 3 | 2 | 54 | 71 | 39 | 4 | .271 |
| 1954 | NYY | 127 | 307 | 47 | 60 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 41 | 23 | 3 | .195 |
| 1955 | NYY | 81 | 143 | 19 | 37 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 22 | 18 | 7 | .259 |
| 1956 | NYY | 31 | 52 | 6 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 3 | .231 |
| Career | — | 1661 | 5816 | 877 | 1588 | 239 | 62 | 38 | 563 | 651 | 398 | 149 | .273 |
On this day & linked events
2007
Died August 13, 2007
1941
Major-league debut: Phil Rizzuto
Phil Rizzuto made a major-league debut on April 14, 1941.
1956
Final major-league game: Phil Rizzuto
Phil Rizzuto played a final major-league game on August 16, 1956.
Image: Bowman Gum, public domain