Holy Cow! He’s gone, and then he’s back again

Phil Rizzuto

After 54 seasons with the New York Yankees – 15 as a player, 39 as a broadcaster – Phil Rizzuto says 30 years ago today that he is done calling games for the team.

Rizzuto quits the gig after a dispute with WPIX-TV over whether Rizzuto can miss a game or two to attend the funeral in Dallas of longtime Rizzuto teammate and friend Mickey Mantle, who dies five days earlier on Aug. 13, 1995.

Rizzuto ends up returning in 1996 before retiring for good – two years after being inducted into the Hall of Fame and 11 years before his death in 2007 at the age of 89.

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