Park renamed after Phil ‘Scooter’ Rizzuto

Now, Yankees shortstop Phil Rizzuto will not only be remembered for his hall of fame career in pinstripes and in the broadcast booth.
On June 27, Smokey Oval Park was renamed Phil “Scooter” Rizzuto Park.
“Rizzuto represents what a New Yorker is all about,” said Assemblymember Rory Lancman, who helped sponsor legislation to rename the park in Rizzuto’s honor. “He had certain qualities that make for a great role model including honesty, optimism, always having a positive outlook and being very hard-working.”
Before he manned the shortstop position at Yankee Stadium, Rizzuto grew up as an immigrant youngster in Richmond Hill.
“Scooter,” the name most baseball fans came to know him by, emigrated to the United States from Italy and grew up in Glendale. He played baseball at Woodside High School.
Lancman said that Rizzuto was the perfect role model for the community.
“Rizzuto was a local kid who worked very, very hard,” Lancman said. “The community associates striving and succeeding with Rizzuto, which is why he is a very good role model to the community.”
In addition to his hall of fame career on the diamond, Lancman said that he was a hall of famer off it as well and cited Rizzuto’s raising millions of dollars in donations to St. Joseph’s School For The Blind as only one example of his charity work.
“A lot of successful people keep the success to themselves, Lancman said. “He generated millions of dollars for various charities.”