Phil Rizzuto - Death

Death

When Rizzuto did not attend the annual Cooperstown reunion in 2005 and the annual New York Yankees Old Timers Day in 2006, questions were raised about his health. His last public appearance came early in 2006; visibly frail, he announced that he was putting much of his memorabilia on the market. In September 2006, Rizzuto's 1950 MVP plaque fetched $175,000, three of his World Series rings sold for $84,825, and a Yankee cap with a wad of chewing gum on it went for $8,190. The majority of the proceeds went to Phil's longtime charity of choice, Jersey City's St. Joseph's School for the Blind.

On September 12, 2006, the New York Post revealed that Rizzuto was currently in a "private rehab facility, trying to overcome muscle atrophy and problems with his esophagus." During his last extensive interview, on WFAN in late 2005, Rizzuto revealed that he had an operation where much of his stomach was removed and that he was being treated with medical steroids, a subject he joked about at the time in light of baseball's performance-enhancing drugs scandal.

Rizzuto died in his sleep on August 13, 2007, three days short of the 51st anniversary of his last game as a Yankee. He had been in declining health for several years and was living at a nursing home in West Orange, New Jersey for the last months of his life. At the time of his death, Rizzuto was the oldest living member of Baseball's Hall of Fame, at 89.

Rizzuto was survived by his wife, Cora (who died in 2010), daughters Cindy Rizzuto, Patricia Rizzuto and Penny Rizzuto Yetto, son Phil Rizzuto Jr., and two granddaughters.