Rich Ashburn was one of the best athletes to ever play sports in Philadelphia. He dedicated almost his entire adult life to the Philadelphia Phillies. Even after he played his last game as a New York Met, he came back to Philadelphia to begin an equally impressive career as the voice of the Philadelphia Phillies.
I was originally going to mention Richie's death among the other sports news in Philadelphia, but after thinking about it, I decided that he deserved his own page. As everyone in Philly probably knows, Richie died of a heart attack in his New York hotel room on Tuesday September 9, 1997, only hours after broadcasting what would turn out to be his final Phillies game.
I'm not old enough to have had the pleasure of watching him play for Philadelphia, but I'm proud to say that I did have the pleasure of listening to him broadcast many, many Phillies games. Even when the Phils weren't worth paying any attention to whatsoever, he made the game fun and tried to keep a positive outlook. I was away when this happened, so I didn't get the news right away, but when I did hear it, it hit me really hard.
Richie was a man that I had come to admire as a broadcaster, and his loss has left an empty feeling inside me. Listening to the Phillies or watching them on T.V. will never be the same again. "Whitey" will truly be missed.
