The Waterbury Democrat., 1946-08-08
Poosh Elm Up TonyLozzeri Hearty
By JACK DALEY United Press Sports Writer


 Anthony Mark (poosh em up Tony) Lazzeri, fl, former infield sparkplug of the New York Yankees who was found dead in his home late yesterday, will be buried here tomorrow in the city where he launched his diamond career.
 Lazzeri apparently was the victim of a heart attack. His body was discovered slumped at the foot of a landing near the entrance to his home by his wife, Nave, who cut short North California vacation in response to calls from friends who had been unable to locate him.
 Deputy Coroner Anthony Trabuc- co said Lazzeri had been dead about 36 hours before the body was found. An autopsy was scheduled later today to determine the exact cause of death.
 The onetime guiding hand in the Yankees infield would have been 42 years old on Dec. 6. In addition to his widow, he is survived by a son, David Anthony, IA.
 Baseball players and executives alike mourned the passing of the man who earned the "Poosh 'em up Tony back in 1925 when he was playing with the old Salt Lake City team in the Pacific Coast League
 Nickname
 Then he was lonesome rookie not hitting his weight, and res- taurant-owner named Tony Rof- fetti fed him spaghetti for three successive nights with the constant remark to "poosh 'em up." Soon after, the young Italian began pooshin' 'em over the fence and closed the season with record 60 home runs.
 Since his retirement from the game at the close of the 1941 season Lazzeri had been the co-owner of a downtown cocktail bar and had toured veterans hospitals and as- sisted with standlot baseball camps
 Mrs. Lazzeri said her husband had not complained of being i'll, al though he had said he was tired and would have enjoyed a vacation. He had put off the rest due to the press of business.
 Lazzeri was purchased by the Tanks at the close of the 1925 sea- son for s50,000 and five players, a fabulous sum in baseball circles at the time
 Murderers' Row
 For the next 12 years he teamed with such famous baseball names as Manager Miller Huggins Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Earle Coombs, and Bob Meusel and helped to form the cast of "murderers' row"-the great array of hitters that made the New Workers the scourge of both major leagues for many sea- sons.
 As a rookie in 1926 Lazzeri played in his first World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals and wound up in a dramatic finish as the goat" In the seventh and deciding game Grover Cleveland Alexander strode to the mound for the Cards when the Yankees had the bags loaded. He struck out the youthful Jazzeri to end the game when any kind Of hit would have meant the pen nant
 "Old Poosh" stuck with the New Workers and left in 1887 with a life time major league batting average of ,293. During those 12 years in the heydey of baseball-and the 4ankees-he played in 1859 games, scored 952 runs; collected l.784 hits for a total of 2,848 bases. He bat ted in l,l54 runs and stole l47 bases.
 He reached his batting peak in 1929 when he posted a mark of .354.
 Tony stuck around until the close of the 1887 World Series in which he was one of the stars. On Oct. lo, he was released by the Yankees at his own request.
 A great strategist, Lazzeri had hoped to get major league mana gerial position after retiring as a player, but there was no spot for hlm in the Yankee organizatio
 He Joined the Chicago Cubs as a player-coach in 1888 and closed out the season with a .262 batting average for 32 World Series con tests, including his appearance as a pinch hitter in the 1888 Fall | classic.
 He trained with the Brooklyn | Dodgers in the Spring of 1939 only | to get his walking papers before the season opened. Twenty-four hours later he joined the New York Giants and lasted until mid-season when he made a deal to take over the managers post for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League.