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121-398: In September 2001, First Union completed their acquisition of Wachovia National Bank to become Wachovia Corporation , which used to be one of the largest financial holding companies in the U.S. As of the end of 2000, First Union had over $ 171 billion of total assets, over 70,000 employees and 2,193 branches. After their acquisition of Wachovia, they assumed the name and stock ticket symbol of

242-579: A "silent run". Ultimately, Wachovia lost a total of $ 5 billion in deposits that day—about one percent of the bank's total deposits. The large outflow of deposits attracted the attention of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency , which regulates national banks. Federal regulators pressured Wachovia to put itself up for sale over the weekend. Had Wachovia failed, it would have been a severe drain on

363-577: A 40-year career as a radio and television sports announcer for the Yankees. He was known for his idiosyncratic, conversational broadcast style, and for his trademark expression "holy cow!" Rizzuto was born on September 25, 1917, in Brooklyn , New York City , New York , the son of a streetcar motorman and his wife, both of whom were originally from Calabria , Italy . There has been confusion about his year of birth, stemming from Rizzuto's "shaving

484-943: A bitter battle over the summer between SunTrust and First Union. Both banks increased their offers for Wachovia, took out newspaper ads, mailed letters to shareholders, and initiated court battles to challenge each other's takeover bids. On August 3, 2001, Wachovia shareholders approved the First Union deal, rejecting SunTrust's attempts to elect a new board of directors for Wachovia and ending SunTrust's hostile takeover attempt. Another complication concerned each bank's credit card division. In April 2001, Wachovia had agreed to sell its $ 8 billion credit card portfolio to Bank One . The cards, which would have still been branded as Wachovia, would have been issued through Bank One's First USA division. First Union had sold its credit card portfolio to MBNA in August 2000. After entering into negotiations,

605-586: A blow to their civic pride because the merged company would be based in Charlotte. The city of Winston-Salem was concerned both by job losses and the loss of stature from losing a major corporate headquarters. First Union was concerned by the potential deposit attrition and customer loss in the city. First Union responded to these concerns by placing the wealth management and Carolinas-region headquarters in Winston-Salem. On May 14, 2001, SunTrust announced

726-495: A broad range of banking, asset management , wealth management , and corporate and investment banking products and services. At its height, it was one of the largest providers of financial services in the United States, operating financial centers in 21 states and Washington, D.C. , with locations from Connecticut to Florida and west to California . Wachovia provided global services through more than 40 offices around

847-459: A broadcaster included the new single-season home run record set by Roger Maris on October 1, 1961, which he called on WCBS radio: Here's the windup, fastball, hit deep to right, this could be it! Way back there! Holy cow, he did it! Sixty-one for Maris! And look at the fight for that ball out there! Holy cow, what a shot! Another standing ovation for Maris, and they're still fighting for that ball out there, climbing over each other's backs. One of

968-605: A charity event in New Jersey in 1951, Rizzuto met a young boy named Ed Lucas , who had lost his sight when he was struck by a baseball between the eyes on the same day as Bobby Thomson 's " Shot Heard 'Round the World ." Rizzuto took an interest in the boy and his school, St. Joseph's School for the Blind. Until his death, Rizzuto raised millions for St. Joseph's by donating profits from his commercials and books, and also by hosting

1089-495: A competitor. In late 2005 Wachovia announced that it would end its relationship with MBNA and create its own credit card division so that the bank could issue its own Visa cards. Westcorp, Western Financial Bank's parent company, WFS Financial Inc. and Wachovia announced a proposed acquisition by Wachovia in September 2005. Westcorp and WFS Financial Inc. shareholders approved the acquisition on Jan. 6, 2006 and on March 1, 2006,

1210-610: A deal announced in June 1992, First Union acquired South Carolina Federal Corp., making First Union the third largest bank in South Carolina by deposits, but also giving North Carolina-based banks the majority of financial institution assets in South Carolina, something that had never happened in any state since regional banking began in 1986. In 1995, First Union acquired First Fidelity of Newark, New Jersey to expand to

1331-751: A failure dwarfing that of WaMu. Phil Rizutto Philip Francis Rizzuto (September 25, 1917 – August 13, 2007), nicknamed " the Scooter ", was an American Major League Baseball shortstop . He spent his entire 13-year baseball career with the New York Yankees (1941–1956), and was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994. A popular figure on a team dynasty that captured 10 AL titles and seven World Championships in his 13 seasons, Rizzuto holds numerous World Series records for shortstops. His best statistical season

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1452-416: A finish! As dramatic a finish as you'd ever want to see! With all that delay, we told you Littell had to be a little upset. And holy cow, Chambliss hits one over the fence, he is being mobbed by the fans, and this field will never be the same, but the Yankees have won it in the bottom of the 9th, 7 to 6! Rizzuto was also on the mic for the one-game playoff that decided the dramatic 1978 AL East race between

1573-724: A major player in the Northeast. Its Northeastern footprint grew even larger in 1998, when it acquired CoreStates Financial Corporation of Philadelphia . One of CoreStates' predecessors, the Bank of North America , had been the first bank proposed, chartered and incorporated in America on December 31, 1781. A former Bank of North America branch in Philadelphia remains in operation today as a Wells Fargo branch Wachovia Corporation began on June 16, 1879, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, as

1694-547: A mark of .983. Rizzuto was voted the American League's Most Valuable Player by a large margin in 1950, after having been the runner-up for the award behind Ted Williams in 1949. He became the only MVP in history who led the league in sacrifice bunts. Rizzuto played in five All-Star Games , in 1942 and each year from 1950 to 1953. In 1950, he also won the Hickok Belt , awarded to the top professional athlete of

1815-473: A national bank and comprehensive financial services company. Merchandise While First Union was merging into Wachovia, they changed the Wachovia logo to a square with wave like lines, the green color represents First Union while the blue represents the main company. They have also released new merchandise such as t-shirts, and provided other things such as retractable keychains, cups, and coffee mugs to show

1936-401: A number of announcers that Rizzuto worked with over the course of his career, Frank Messer ( 1968 – 1985 ) and Bill White ( 1971 – 1988 ) were the two most memorable. Rizzuto, Messer, and White were the main broadcast trio that presided over an important time period for the Yankees, which spanned from the non-winning CBS years through the championship seasons and other years of struggle during

2057-448: A part of the interest owed, which was then added onto the balance of the loan. In 2006, Golden West Financial was named the "Most Admired Company" in the mortgage services business by Fortune magazine . By the time Wachovia announced its acquisition, Golden West had over $ 125 billion in assets and 11,600 employees. By October 2, 2006, Wachovia had closed the acquisition of Golden West Financial Corporation. The Sandlers agreed to remain on

2178-531: A portfolio of over $ 50 billion of securities on loan to the Wachovia Global Securities Lending division. On November 1, 2004, Wachovia completed the acquisition of Birmingham, Alabama -based SouthTrust Corporation , a transaction valued at $ 14.3 billion. The merger created the largest bank in the southeast United States, the fourth largest bank in terms of holdings, and the second largest in terms of number of branches. Integration

2299-485: A rally by kicking the ball out of Rizzuto's glove on a tag play. Ty Cobb named Rizzuto and Stan Musial as "two of the few modern ball players who could hold their own among old timers." Yankees manager Casey Stengel had famously dismissed Rizzuto during that Brooklyn Dodgers tryout in 1935 when Stengel was managing that team, advising him to "go get a shoeshine box." But Stengel ended up managing Rizzuto during five consecutive championship seasons, and would later say, "He

2420-815: A reason was given as to why that player needed to be kept. Finally, Rizzuto realized that the expendable name was his own. He called former teammate George Stirnweiss , who told him to refrain from "blasting" the Yankees because it might cost him a non-playing job later. Rizzuto said many times that following Stirnweiss' advice was probably the best move he ever made. When he retired, his 1,217 career double plays ranked second in major league history, trailing only Luke Appling 's total of 1,424, and his .968 career fielding average trailed only Lou Boudreau 's mark of .973 among AL shortstops. He also ranked fifth in AL history in games at shortstop (1,647), eighth in putouts (3,219) and total chances (8,148), and ninth in assists (4,666). At

2541-466: A rival takeover bid for Wachovia, the first hostile takeover attempt in the banking sector in many years. In its effort to make the deal appeal to investors, SunTrust argued that it would provide a smoother transition than First Union and offered a higher cash price for Wachovia stock than First Union. Wachovia's board of directors rejected SunTrust's offer and supported the merger with First Union. SunTrust continued its hostile takeover attempt, leading to

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2662-578: A small banking desk in the lobby of a Charlotte hotel by H.M. Victor. The bank merged with First National Bank and Trust Company of Asheville, North Carolina , in 1958 to become First Union National Bank of North Carolina. First Union Corporation was incorporated in 1967. By the 1990s, it had grown into a Southern regional powerhouse in a strategy mirroring its longtime rival on Tryon Street in Charlotte, NCNB (later NationsBank and now Bank of America ). In 1995, however, it acquired First Fidelity Bancorporation of Newark, New Jersey ; at one stroke becoming

2783-503: A specialist in home equity loans known for its commercials featuring Baseball Hall of Fame shortstop Phil Rizutto and pitcher Jim Palmer . Two years later, it closed the unit, writing off $ 1.7 billion in losses. On April 16, 2001, First Union announced it would merge with Wachovia. This was viewed with great surprise by the financial press and security analysts. While Wachovia had been viewed as an acquisition candidate after running into problems with earnings and credit quality in 2000,

2904-425: A step that some regulators frowned upon, and which the former World Savings management had resisted for years: it allowed borrowers to make monthly payments with an annual interest rate of just 1 percent. While Wachovia Mortgage continued to scrutinize borrowers' ability to manage increased payments, the move to rock-bottom rates lured customers whose financial reliability was more difficult to verify. More than 70% of

3025-725: A year off" the date at the beginning of his pro career, on the advice of teammates. Throughout his career, his birth year was reported as 1918 in The Sporting News , the Baseball Register , and the American League Red Book ; later reference sources revised the year to 1917, indicating his age at the time of his death to be 89. After Rizzuto's death, the New York Post broke a story reporting Rizzuto's actual year of birth as 1916. However, it

3146-946: Is now the longest continuously operated branch in the nation, and is part of Wells Fargo through multiple subsequent mergers. The acquisition of CoreStates brought problems. Many of these arose when First Union attempted to integrate the CoreStates and First Union computer systems too rapidly. Initially, CoreStates’ tellers received insufficient training with the new First Union systems and the two systems were unable to communicate with each other. This led to problems with account access and payments not correctly applied to loans. First Union acquired Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co. on April 30, 1998 adding to its merger and acquisition , high yield , leveraged finance , equity underwriting , private placement , loan syndication , risk management , and public finance capabilities. On June 30, 1998, First Union paid $ 2.1 billion for The Money Store ,

3267-441: Is one of Jeter's most prized possessions. In the spring of 1957, following Rizzuto's release, Baltimore Orioles manager Paul Richards said, "Among those shortstops whom I have had the good fortune to see in action, it's got to be Rizzuto on top for career achievement. For a five-year period, I would have to take Lou Boudreau. ... But, year after year, season after season, Rizzuto was a standout." Sportswriter Dan Daniel wrote at

3388-434: Is the greatest shortstop I have ever seen in my entire baseball career, and I have watched some beauties." During his heyday, Yankees pitcher Vic Raschi noted, "My best pitch is anything the batter grounds, lines or pops in the direction of Rizzuto." Decades into his retirement, teammate Joe DiMaggio characterized Rizzuto's enduring appeal to fans: "People loved watching me play baseball. Scooter, they just loved." Rizzuto

3509-567: The Baltimore Orioles . The Yankees' sponsor, Ballantine Beer , took notice, and insisted that the team hire Rizzuto as an announcer for the 1957 season . General manager George Weiss was obliged to fire Jim Woods , who had only been with the Yankees for four years, to make room for Rizzuto in the booth. When Weiss told Woods he was out in favor of Rizzuto, he said that it was the first time he had to fire someone for no reason. Rizzuto broadcast Yankee games on radio and television for

3630-601: The Evergreen Investments brand until 2010, when the Evergreen fund family merged with Wells Fargo Advantage Funds, and institutional and high-net-worth products merged with Wells Capital Management and its affiliates. Wachovia's private equity arm operated as Wachovia Capital Partners . Additionally, the asset-based lending group operated as Wachovia Capital Finance. Wachovia ( / w ɑː ˈ k oʊ v i ə / wah- KOH -vee-ə ) has its origins in

3751-697: The Latin form of the Austrian name Wachau . When Moravian settlers arrived in Bethabara, North Carolina , in 1753, they gave this name to the land they acquired, because it resembled the Wachau valley along the Danube River . The area formerly known as Wachovia now makes up most of Forsyth County , and the largest city is now Winston-Salem. First Union was founded as Union National Bank on June 2, 1908,

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3872-592: The New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1937. His nickname, at times attributed to Yankees broadcaster Mel Allen , was actually bestowed on Rizzuto (according to him) by minor league teammate Billy Hitchcock because of the way Rizzuto ran the bases. After receiving The Sporting News Minor League Player of the Year Award in 1940 while playing with the Kansas City Blues , he played his first major league game on April 14, 1941. Taking over for

3993-638: The Northeast . In April 1998, First Union acquired CoreStates Financial Corporation , headquartered in Philadelphia . At the time, this was the largest merger in U.S. banking history. CoreStates traced its history to 1781 and the Bank of North America , the first bank chartered in the United States. Once the merger finalized, First Union claimed 1781 as its founding date. It continued to operate The Bank of North America's first branch at 6th and Chestnut streets in Philadelphia , which opened in 1782. It

4114-822: The Wachovia Financial Center . The merger also affected the names of the indoor professional sports arenas in Philadelphia and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania . Formerly known as the First Union Center and the First Union Spectrum (both Philadelphia) and First Union Arena (Wilkes-Barre), they were renamed the Wachovia Center (now known as Wells Fargo Center ), Wachovia Spectrum (which was later demolished), and Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza (now known as Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza ), respectively. A graphic illustration of

4235-646: The Yankees and the Boston Red Sox , the Pine Tar game involving George Brett in 1983 , and Phil Niekro 's 300th career win in 1985 . On August 15, 1995, the evening of the funeral of former teammate Mickey Mantle , the Yankees were set to play a road game against the Boston Red Sox. Announcing partner Bobby Murcer had already left to attend the funeral. Rizzuto was not permitted to leave, as

4356-545: The cannoli he ate between innings. This chatter sometimes distracted the speaker himself; Rizzuto devised the unique scoring notation "WW" for his scorecard; it stood for "Wasn't Watching." He also joked about leaving the game early, saying to his wife, "I'll be home soon, Cora!" and "I gotta get over that bridge", referring to the nearby and often-congested George Washington Bridge , which he would use to get back to his home in Hillside. In later years, Rizzuto would announce

4477-650: The 55-story First Union Financial Center in downtown Miami became the Wachovia Financial Center . The merger also affected the names of the indoor professional sports arenas in Philadelphia and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania . Formerly known as the First Union Center and the First Union Spectrum, both in Philadelphia, and First Union Arena in Wilkes-Barre, they became the Wachovia Center , Wachovia Spectrum , and Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza , respectively. In 2010, following Wachovia's merger into Wells Fargo ,

4598-521: The A.G. Edwards brand in favor of a unified Wachovia Securities . Wachovia, excluding subsidiaries, was the fourth largest bank at the end of 2008. Exposed to risky loans, such as adjustable rate mortgages acquired during the acquisition of Golden West Financial in 2006, Wachovia began to experience heavy losses in its loan portfolios during the subprime mortgage crisis . In the first quarter of 2007, Wachovia reported $ 2.3 billion in earnings, including acquisitions and divestitures. However, in

4719-689: The Annual Phil Rizzuto Celebrity Golf Classic and "Scooter" Awards. Rizzuto and Lucas remained friendly, and it was through the Yankee broadcaster's influence that Lucas's 2006 wedding was the only one ever conducted at Yankee Stadium. Lucas was one of Rizzuto's last visitors at his nursing home, days before his death. Rizzuto was terrified of snakes. Knowing this, opposing players would sometimes play practical jokes on him by inserting rubber snakes into his baseball glove. Whenever this happened, Rizzuto refused to go near

4840-467: The Dashboard Light ." Ostensibly an account of a baseball sequence, it actually describes the singer's step-by-step efforts to engage in coitus with a young woman (voiced by actress and singer Ellen Foley ). When Rizzuto recorded his piece, he was reportedly unaware of how his spoken contribution would be used. When the song broke, Rizzuto said his parish priest called him in shock. However, "Phil

4961-522: The Dodgers and Giants owners hastened into court also; their teams were among the 10 who had actually lost a combined number of 23 players that season. The situation was hardly helped when retired Yankees slugger-hero Babe Ruth took his family on an extended Mexican vacation as guest of the Pasquels, and new rumors flew that Ruth was being wooed for a Mexican club manager's job. The lawsuits soon moved to

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5082-767: The FDIC's insurance fund due to its size (it operated one of the largest branch networks on the East Coast). As business halted for the weekend, Wachovia was already in FDIC-brokered talks with Citigroup and Wells Fargo ; the latter company initially emerged as the frontrunner to acquire the ailing Wachovia's banking operations. Wells Fargo originally backed out of this particular deal due to concerns over Wachovia's commercial loans. With no deal in place as September 28 dawned, regulators were concerned that Wachovia would not have enough short-term funding to open for business

5203-522: The First Union deal, rejecting SunTrust's attempts to elect a new board of directors for Wachovia and ending SunTrust's hostile takeover attempt. Another issue concerned each bank's credit card division. In April 2001, Wachovia agreed to sell its $ 8 billion credit card portfolio to Bank One . The cards, which would have still been branded as Wachovia, would have been issued through Bank One's First USA division. First Union sold its credit card portfolio to MBNA in August 2000. After entering into negotiations,

5324-535: The First Union systems, now using the Wachovia name. The company first began converting systems in the southeast United States, where both banks had branches, before moving to the Northeast, where First Union branches only had to change their signs to reflect the new company name and logo. This process ended on August 18, 2003, almost two years after the merger took place. When First Union bought Wachovia, Charlotte's One , Two , and Three First Union buildings became One, Two, and Three Wachovia Center (respectively), and

5445-476: The Hall who were inferior to Rizzuto, and in 2001 he selected Rizzuto as the 16th greatest shortstop of all time, ahead of eight other Hall of Famers. Rizzuto was modest about his achievements, saying, "I never thought I deserved to be in the Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame is for the big guys, pitchers with 100 mph fastballs and hitters who sock homers and drive in a lot of runs. That's the way it always has been, and

5566-494: The Major League for 5 years. The New York Herald Tribune sent one of its star sportswriters, Rutherford "Rud" Rennie , down to Mexico to see what was up with the invigorated Mexican League and the ambitious Pasquel Brothers. By that time they had hired a trio of Mariachi musicians wearing sombreros to play outside at least one American stadium. The Trib's Rennie sent several dispatches from Mexico, liking some things about

5687-561: The Pick-A-Pay loans were made in California, Florida and Arizona, where home prices had declined severely. In 2009 New York Times reporter Floyd Norris called World Savings a "ticking timebomb" that created "zombie homeowners". While Wachovia Chairman and CEO G. Kennedy "Ken" Thompson had described Golden West as a "crown jewel", investors did not react positively to the deal. Analysts said that Wachovia purchased Golden West at

5808-680: The Spectrum was demolished and the other venues became the Wells Fargo Center and the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza. Wachovia National Bank Wachovia was a diversified financial services company based in Charlotte, North Carolina . Before its acquisition by Wells Fargo and Company in 2008, Wachovia was the fourth-largest bank holding company in the United States, based on total assets. Wachovia provided

5929-607: The Steinbrenner era. On television, for example, the Yankees broadcast team went unchanged from 1972 to 1982 . Rizzuto was twice assigned to broadcast the World Series while with the Yankees. He worked the 1964 series on NBC -TV and radio with Joe Garagiola when the Yankees faced the Cardinals . The next time the Yankees made it into the series, in 1976 , Rizzuto joined Garagiola and Tony Kubek on NBC-TV when

6050-471: The US Supreme Court, but the Yankees' MacPhail saw he had overreacted in pushing a restraining order on Rennie for merely covering the news and maintaining good relationships with Rizzuto and teammates; the order was dropped, avoiding a potential first amendment fracas for Larry MacPhail, who would be edged out in a year. Perhaps at least partially caused by the court action and negative attention,

6171-554: The Wachovia National Bank. The bank was co-founded by James Alexander Gray and William Lemly. In 1911, the bank merged with Wachovia Loan and Trust Company , "the largest trust company between Baltimore and New Orleans ", which had been founded on June 15, 1893. Wachovia grew to become one of the largest banks in the Southeast partly on the strength of its accounts from the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company , which

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6292-506: The World Savings loan portfolio. They noted that the creditworthiness of World Savings borrowers edged down from 2004 to 2006, while Pick-A-Pay borrowers had credit scores well below the industry average for traditional loans. World Savings lending volume dipped again in 2006 shortly after the sale to Wachovia was initiated. In 2007, after the merger, World Savings, then known as Wachovia Mortgage began to attract more borrowers by taking

6413-517: The Yankees and the opposing St. Louis Cardinals , with 8 hits and a .381 average in the 1942 World Series ; the light-hitting shortstop even added a home run after hitting just four in the regular season. Like many players of the era, he found his career interrupted by a stint in the military, serving in the United States Navy during World War II. From 1943 through 1945, he played on a Navy baseball team alongside Dodgers shortstop Reese;

6534-647: The Yankees faced the Reds . The 1976 World Series was the last to have a local voice from each of the two teams take part as guest announcers. WPIX and its usual Rizzuto-Messer-White broadcast trifecta carried the ALCS in 1976 , 1977 , 1978 , 1980 , and 1981 , providing metropolitan area viewers a local alternative to the nationally broadcast telecasts. Rizzuto would typically refer to his broadcast partners by their last names, calling them "White", "Murcer" and "Seaver" instead of "Bill", "Bobby" or "Tom." Reportedly, he did

6655-416: The Yankees finished third in 1946 and Rizzuto's average went down to .257. By 1947, Commissioner Chandler let Americans return to their home clubs with no penalty. And In 1947 the increasingly valued Rizzuto recorded a .969 fielding average, breaking Crosetti's 1939 team record for shortstops of .968. He broke his own record the following year with a .973 mark. Rizzuto's peak as a player was 1949–50, when he

6776-411: The Yankees played until Game Seven of the World Series; Rizzuto batted .455 in those three games (1947, 1952, 1955). In Rizzuto's obituary, The New York Times recalled a play that had occurred on September 17, 1951, with the Yankees and Cleveland Indians tied for first place and just 12 games left in the season: As the winning run scored, Lemon angrily threw both the ball and his pitching glove into

6897-610: The Yankees, Rizzuto hosted It's Sports Time with Phil Rizzuto , a 5-minute weekday evening sports show, on the CBS Radio Network from 1957 to 1977. Rizzuto was the longtime celebrity spokesman in TV ads for The Money Store . He was well known as their spokesman for nearly 20 years, from the 1970s into the 1990s. Rizzuto provides play-by-play commentary during the long spoken bridge in Meat Loaf 's 1977 song " Paradise by

7018-441: The Yankees, and Phil Rizzuto was rumored to be considering a $ 100,000, 3-year contract. For that matter, a number of players on various teams had begun "moonlighting" in winter playing for Cuban teams. The disarray had to end. Baseball Commissioner Albert Happy Chandler , former Kentucky governor, announced on Opening Day that exclusivity clauses still ruled—all contract-jumping players heading to Mexico or Cuba would be suspended from

7139-422: The acquisition and integration of World Savings Bank in 2007. Wachovia agreed to purchase Golden West Financial for a little under $ 25.5 billion on May 7, 2006. This acquisition gave Wachovia an additional 285-branch network spanning 10 states. Wachovia greatly raised its profile in California, where Golden West held $ 32 billion in deposits and operated 123 branches. Golden West, which operated branches under

7260-438: The art of bunting had largely been lost in baseball. Rizzuto was among the AL's top five players in stolen bases seven times. Defensively, he led the league three times each in double plays and total chances per game, twice each in fielding and putouts , and once in assists . Rizzuto ranks among the top ten players in several World Series categories, including games, hits, walks, runs, and steals. Three times during his career,

7381-403: The board at Wachovia. The Sandlers sold their firm at the top of the market, saying that they were growing older and wanted to devote themselves to philanthropy. A year earlier, in 2005, World Savings lending had started to slow, after more than quadrupling since 1998. Some current and former Wachovia officials said that the merger was agreed to within days, making it impossible to thoroughly vet

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7502-578: The company out of its difficulties. After Steel took over, he insisted that Wachovia would stay independent. However, its stock price plunged 27 percent on September 26 due to the seizure of Washington Mutual the previous night. On the same day, several businesses and institutional depositors withdrew money from their accounts in order to drop their balances below the $ 100,000 insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)—an event known in banking circles as

7623-566: The company's major mergers, acquisitions, and historical predecessors, up to the 2001 merger of Wachovia and First Union: Union National Bank   (est. 1908) First National Bank & Trust CoreStates Financial   (dates to 1781) Wachovia National Bank  (Formerly: Bank of Salem )  (est. 1879) Wachovia Loan & Trust   (est. 1893) First Atlanta  (Formerly Atlanta National Bank)  (est. 1865) Between 2001 and 2006, Wachovia bought several other financial services companies in an attempt to become

7744-625: The deal appeal to investors, SunTrust argued that it would provide a smoother transition than First Union and offered a higher cash price for Wachovia stock than First Union. Wachovia's board of directors rejected SunTrust's offer and supported the merger with First Union. SunTrust continued its hostile takeover attempt, leading to a bitter battle over the summer between SunTrust and First Union. Both banks increased their offers for Wachovia, took out newspaper ads, mailed letters to shareholders, and initiated court battles to challenge each other's takeover bids. On August 3, 2001, Wachovia shareholders approved

7865-454: The end of the season. Apart from military service, he had spent the first 60 years of his adult life in the Yankee organization as a minor league player (1937–1940), major league player (1941–1942, 1946–1956) and broadcaster (1957–1996). Although Allen has long been known as the "Voice of the Yankees," Rizzuto is the longest serving broadcaster in Yankees history, serving 40 years to Allen's 30 years over two stints. On February 2, 1950, Rizzuto

7986-606: The few companies with dual headquarters: one in Winston-Salem and one in Atlanta. In 1991, Wachovia entered the South Carolina market by acquiring South Carolina National Corporation, founded as the Bank of Charleston in 1834. In 1998, Wachovia acquired two Virginia-based banks, Jefferson National Bank and Central Fidelity Bank. In 1997, Wachovia acquired both 1st United Bancorp and American Bankshares Inc, giving its first entry into Florida . In 2000, Wachovia made its final purchase, which

8107-525: The financial press and security analysts. While Wachovia had been viewed as an acquisition candidate after running into problems with earnings and credit quality in 2000, the suitor shocked analysts as many speculated that Wachovia would be sold to Atlanta-based SunTrust . The deal was met with skepticism and criticism. Analysts, remembering the problems with the CoreStates acquisition, were concerned about First Union's ability to merge with another large company. Winston-Salem's citizens and politicians suffered

8228-400: The first six innings of Yankee games; the TV director would sometimes puckishly show a shot of the bridge (which can be seen from the top of Yankee Stadium ) after Rizzuto had departed. Rizzuto was also very phobic about lightning , and sometimes left the booth following violent thunderclaps. Rizzuto started his broadcasting career working alongside Mel Allen and Red Barber in 1957. Among

8349-576: The glove until someone assured him the snake was artificial. Rizzuto had options following his release by the Yankees, including a player contract from the Cardinals and a minor league offer from the Dodgers. Rizzuto instead decided to pursue broadcasting after receiving good reviews when he filled in for the New York Giants ' wraparound host Frankie Frisch in September 1956 following Frisch's heart attack. Rizzuto submitted an audition tape to

8470-435: The greatest shortstop in Yankees history. The Scooter paid tribute to his heir apparent during the 2001 postseason at Yankee Stadium; jogging back to the Yankee dugout, he flipped the ceremonial baseball backhand, imitating Jeter's celebrated game-saving throw to home plate that had just occurred during the Yankees' 2001 American League Division Series triumph. ESPN reported that the photo of Jeter and Rizzuto taken that evening

8591-504: The greatest sights I've ever seen here at Yankee Stadium! Rizzuto also called the pennant-winning home run hit by Chris Chambliss in the American League Championship Series on October 14, 1976, on WPIX-TV : He hits one deep to right-center! That ball is out of here! The Yankees win the pennant! Holy cow, Chris Chambliss on one swing! And the Yankees win the American League pennant. Unbelievable, what

8712-473: The highly important keystone spot don't measure up, over a season anyway, with Joe Gordon and Phil Rizzuto, a pair of light-footed, quick-handed operatives who can turn seeming base hits into double plays often enough to save many a close scrap." Rizzuto's rookie season ended in the World Series , and though he hit poorly, the Yankees beat the Dodgers. The following year, Rizzuto led all hitters, for both

8833-418: The honor. Some of Rizzuto's peers supported his candidacy, including Boston's Ted Williams . Williams once claimed that his Red Sox would have won most of the Yankees' 1940s and 1950s pennants if they had had Rizzuto at shortstop, but Rizzuto himself was more modest: "My stats don't shout. They kind of whisper." The push for Rizzuto became especially acute after 1984, when the committee elected Pee Wee Reese ,

8954-443: The latter company. First Union Corporation was founded as Union National Bank on June 2, 1908, a small banking desk in the lobby of a hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina , by H. M. Victor. The bank merged with First National Bank and Trust Company of Asheville in 1958 to become First Union National Bank of North Carolina. In 1964, the bank added Cameron-Brown company, a mortgage banking and insurance firm. First Union Corporation

9075-449: The loss of stature from losing a major corporate headquarters. First Union was concerned by the potential deposit attrition and customer loss in the city. First Union responded to these concerns by placing the wealth management and Carolinas-region headquarters in Winston-Salem. On May 14, 2001, SunTrust announced a rival takeover bid for Wachovia, the first hostile takeover attempt in the banking sector in many years. In its effort to make

9196-506: The merger was completed. This acquisition made Wachovia the ninth largest auto finance lender in the competitive U.S. auto finance market and provided Wachovia with a small retail and commercial banking presence in Southern California . On February 12, 2007, the former 19 Western Financial Bank branches opened under the Wachovia name. These branches became the launching point for a much larger Wachovia presence in California with

9317-679: The mortgage banking firm acquired in 1964 became subsidiaries of First Union Corp creating the structure the bank utilized until the 2001 merger. Starting in 1985, with the Supreme Court decision upholding regional interstate banking legislation, First Union focused on an aggressive growth strategy. From 1985 through the merger with Wachovia in 2001, First Union completed over 90 banking-related acquisitions, 50 of which were completed between 1985 and 1995. Atlantic National Bank in Jacksonville, Florida , merged with First Union in 1985. In

9438-490: The name World Savings Bank, was the second largest savings and loan in the United States. The business was a small savings and loan in the San Francisco Bay area when it was purchased in 1963 for $ 4 million by Herbert and Marion Sandler . Golden West specialized in option ARMs loans, marketed under the name "Pick-A-Pay." These loans gave the borrower a choice of payment plans, including the option to defer paying

9559-444: The new Wachovia agreed to buy back its portfolio from Bank One in September 2001 and resell it to MBNA. Wachovia paid Bank One a $ 350 million termination fee . On September 4, 2001, First Union and Wachovia officially merged. In order to prevent a repeat of the CoreStates problems, the new Wachovia gradually phased-in the conversion of legacy Wachovia computer systems to First Union systems. The company first began converting systems in

9680-465: The new Wachovia agreed to buy back its portfolio from Bank One in September 2001 and resell it to MBNA. Wachovia paid Bank One a $ 350 million termination fee . On September 4, 2001, First Union officially completed its purchase of Wachovia National Bank to formally become the newly named Wachovia Corporation. In order to prevent a repeat of the CoreStates problems, the new Wachovia phased the conversion of legacy Wachovia National Bank computer systems into

9801-427: The next 40 years. His popular catchphrase was " Holy cow ." Rizzuto also became known for saying "Unbelievable!" or "Did you see that?" to describe a great play, and would call somebody a "huckleberry" if he did something Rizzuto did not like. During game broadcasts, he would frequently wish listeners a happy birthday or anniversary, send get-well wishes to fans in hospitals, and speak well of restaurants he liked, or of

9922-440: The next day. In order to obtain enough liquidity to do business, banks usually depend on short-term loans to each other. However, the markets had been so battered by a credit crisis related to the housing bubble that banks were skittish about making such loans. Under the circumstances, regulators feared that if customers pulled out more money, Wachovia would not have enough liquidity to meet its obligations. This would have resulted in

10043-533: The peak of the US housing boom. Wachovia Mortgage's mortgage-related problems led to Wachovia suffering writedowns and losses that far exceeded the price paid in the acquisition, ending up in the fire-sale of Wachovia to Wells Fargo . On May 31, 2007, Wachovia announced plans to purchase A. G. Edwards for $ 6.8 billion to create the United States' second largest retail brokerage firm. The acquisition closed on October 1, 2007. In early March 2008 Wachovia began to phase out

10164-505: The previous year when Rizzuto substituted for Joe DiMaggio as a speaker at a Newark communion breakfast. "I fell in love so hard I didn't go home", Rizzuto recalled. He rented a nearby hotel room for a month to be near her. The Rizzutos moved to Hillside, New Jersey , in 1949, to an apartment in Monroe Gardens. With later financial successes, they moved to a Tudor home on Westminster Avenue, where they lived for many years. At

10285-440: The record stood until Ed Brinkman played error-free for 72 games in 1972. Rizzuto recorded 123 double plays in 1950, three more than Crosetti's total from 1938; it remains the Yankee record. Rizzuto's 1950 fielding percentage of .9817 led the league, and came within less than a point of Lou Boudreau 's league record of .9824, set in 1947. Rizzuto's mark was a franchise record until 1976, when Yankees shortstop Fred Stanley posted

10406-440: The same with teammates during his playing days. Rizzuto developed a reputation as a "homer", an announcer who would sometimes lapse into openly rooting for the home team. In 1978, on the televised postgame show, the news arrived that Pope Paul VI had just died. "Well," said Rizzuto, "that kind of puts the damper on even a Yankee win." Esquire magazine called that the "Holiest Cow of 1978." Rizzuto's most significant moments as

10527-559: The scene but disliking others. Rennie, who had covered the Yankees since the Roaring Twenties, was soon astounded when MacPhail sued the Mexican Baseball League and the restraining order named Rud Rennie as an "agent" of the foreigners. Court papers alleged that he had "been seen" in the Yankees locker room talking with his good friend Phil Rizzuto and other players and advocating contract-jumping. Hours later,

10648-539: The second quarter of 2008, Wachovia reported a much larger than anticipated $ 8.9 billion loss. On June 2, 2008, Wachovia chief executive officer Ken Thompson was forced to retire. He had been head of the company since 2000, while it was still known as First Union . The board replaced him on an interim basis with Chairman Lanty Smith. Smith had already replaced Thompson as chairman a month earlier. On July 9, 2008, Wachovia hired Treasury Undersecretary Bob Steel as chief executive in hopes that his experience would lead

10769-438: The similarly regarded shortstop of the crosstown Brooklyn Dodgers. Bill James later used Rizzuto's long candidacy as a recurring focus in his book Whatever Happened to the Hall of Fame? , devoting several chapters to the shortstop's career and comparisons with similar players. James assessed Rizzuto's career statistics as historically substandard by Hall of Fame standards, although he acknowledged that credit must be given for

10890-512: The southeast United States where both banks had branches, before moving to First Union's branches in the Northeast, which only had to change their signs to reflect the new company name and logo. This process was completed on August 18, 2003, almost 2 years after the merger. In comparison to the CoreStates purchase, the acquisition of Wachovia by First Union was considered successful by analysts. The company's deliberate pace of conversion prevented any large-scale customer attrition . In fact, Wachovia

11011-511: The stands. Rizzuto was released by the Yankees on August 25, 1956. Rizzuto often talked about the unusual circumstances of his release. Late in the 1956 season, the Yankees re-acquired Enos Slaughter , who had been with the team in 1954–55, and asked Rizzuto to meet with the front office to discuss adjustments to the upcoming postseason roster. They then asked Rizzuto to look over the list of Yankee players and suggest which ones might be cut to make room for Slaughter. For each name Rizzuto mentioned,

11132-712: The success during 2001 to its acquisition by Wells Fargo. Wachovia Securities and the Prudential Securities Division of Prudential Financial, Inc. combined to form Wachovia Securities LLC on July 1, 2003. Wachovia owned a controlling 62% stake, while Prudential Financial retained the remaining 38%. At the time, the new firm had client assets of $ 532.1 billion, making it the nation's third largest full service retail brokerage firm, based on assets. On October 22, 2003, Wachovia announced it would acquire Metropolitan West Securities, an affiliate company of Metropolitan West Financial . This acquisition added

11253-431: The suitor shocked analysts as many speculated that Wachovia would be sold to Atlanta-based SunTrust . As an important part of the deal, while First Union was the nominal survivor, the merged company would assume the Wachovia name and stock ticker symbol (though it retained First Union's pre-2001 stock price history). Analysts said this move was most likely to help First Union acquire a new identity, as Wachovia's reputation

11374-412: The team needed someone to do the color commentary. Rizzuto abruptly left the booth after five innings, saying he could not go on. Rizzuto announced his retirement from announcing soon afterwards, which was attributed to the incident. He was eventually persuaded to return for one more season in 1996 , where he called another Yankee shortstop protégé, Derek Jeter 's first home run. He retired for good at

11495-467: The team was managed by Yankees catcher Bill Dickey . Shortly after Rizzuto's return to the Yankees for the 1946 season, he attracted the ire of new Yankees general manager, president, and co-owner Larry MacPhail , former president and general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers. MacPhail had served in both World Wars, was hard-drinking, tempestuous, and often paranoid, but as a baseball executive

11616-416: The time of his last game, he had also appeared in the most World Series games ever (52), a record soon surpassed by five of his Yankees teammates. Rizzuto still holds numerous World Series records for shortstops, including the most career games played, singles, walks, times on base, stolen bases, at-bats, putouts, assists and double plays. Rizzuto married Cora Anne Ellenborn on June 23, 1943; the two first met

11737-549: The time, "It seems to me that Rizzuto must be included among the few players of the past five years who may look forward to ultimate election to the Hall of Fame." However, Daniel's assessment did not come to pass for over 35 years. Rizzuto was elected to the Hall of Fame along with Leo Durocher (who was selected posthumously), in 1994 by the Veterans Committee , following a long campaign for Rizzuto's election by Yankee fans who were frustrated that he had not received

11858-467: The way it should be." Rizzuto gave a memorably discombobulated induction speech at Cooperstown, in which he repeatedly complained about the buzzing flies that were pestering him. Rizzuto's "inimitable and wondrous digressions and ramblings" were mimicked by New York Times columnist Ira Berkow : Anyway, somewhere in the speech (Rizzuto) told about leaving home in Brooklyn for the first time when he

11979-406: The well-liked Frank Crosetti , whose batting average had dropped to .194 after several strong seasons, Rizzuto quickly fit into the Yankees lineup to form an outstanding middle infield with second baseman Joe Gordon . In his syndicated column on October 1, Grantland Rice compared the pair favorably to the middle infield of the crosstown Brooklyn Dodgers : " Billy Herman and Pee Wee Reese around

12100-642: The world. The acquisition of Wachovia by Wells Fargo was completed on December 31, 2008, after a government-forced sale to avoid Wachovia's failure. The Wachovia brand was absorbed into the Wells Fargo brand in a process that lasted three years. On October 15, 2011, the final Wachovia branches were converted to Wells Fargo. Wachovia was the product of a 2001 merger between the original Wachovia Corporation, based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina , and Charlotte-based First Union Corporation . The company

12221-752: The year, and was named Major League Player of the Year by The Sporting News . He was voted top major league shortstop by The Sporting News four consecutive years (1949–52). Rizzuto batted .320 in the 1951 World Series , for which the New York chapter of the BBWAA later voted him the Babe Ruth Award as the Series' top player. Decades later, Rizzuto still spoke resentfully of the incident in which pugnacious New York Giants second baseman Eddie Stanky sparked

12342-593: The years he missed in World War II, and criticized many of the public arguments both for and against his selection; but despite noting that Rizzuto was a great defensive player and a good hitter he stated that he could not endorse his candidacy, as there were too many similar players with virtually identical accomplishments. The book's final paragraph noted Rizzuto's election to the Hall in February 1994. James, however, did point out that there were numerous players in

12463-465: Was 19 years old and going to play shortstop in the minor league town of Bassett, Virginia, and he was on a train with no sleeper and when he got his first taste of Southern fried chicken and it was great and it was also the first time that he ever ate -- "Hey, White, what's that stuff that looks like oatmeal?"—and Bill White, his onetime announcing partner on Yankee broadcasts, and, like all his partners, never seemed to learn their first names, though he knew

12584-534: Was 1950, when he was named the American League 's Most Valuable Player . Generally, Rizzuto was a " small ball " player, noted for his strong defense in the infield and as a great bunter . When he retired, his 1,217 career double plays ranked second in major league history, trailing only Luke Appling 's total of 1,424, and his .968 career fielding average trailed only Lou Boudreau 's mark of .973 among AL shortstops. After his playing career, Rizzuto had

12705-463: Was Republic Security Bank. On April 16, 2001, First Union announced it would acquire Wachovia, through the exchange of approximately $ 13.4 billion in First Union stock. First Union offered two of its shares for each Wachovia share outstanding. The announcement was made by Wachovia chairman L.M. "Bud" Baker Jr. and First Union chairman Ken Thompson . Baker would become chairman of the merged bank, while Thompson would become president and CEO. First Union

12826-479: Was accidentally bumped to the ground during his own ceremony, by a live cow wearing a halo (that is, a "holy cow"); both honoree and cow were unhurt. Rizzuto later described the encounter: "That big thing stepped right on my shoe and pushed me backwards, like a karate move." In that day's game, future broadcast partner Tom Seaver recorded his 300th career victory. Most baseball observers, including Rizzuto himself, came to believe that Derek Jeter had surpassed him as

12947-506: Was also headquartered in Winston-Salem. As of December 31, 1964, Wachovia was the first bank in the Southeastern United States to exceed $ 1 billion in resources. On December 12, 1986, Wachovia purchased First Atlanta. Founded as Atlanta National Bank on September 14, 1865, and later renamed to First National Bank of Atlanta, this institution was the oldest national bank in Atlanta. This purchase made Wachovia one of

13068-552: Was completed by the end of 2005. In June 2005, Wachovia negotiated to purchase monoline credit card company MBNA . However, the deal fell through when Wachovia balked at MBNA's purchase price. Within a week of the deal's collapse, MBNA entered into an agreement to be purchased by Wachovia's chief rival, Bank of America . Wachovia received $ 100 million as the result of an agreement Wachovia predecessor First Union made in 2000 when it sold its credit card portfolio to MBNA. This agreement required MBNA to pay this sum if it were ever sold to

13189-513: Was far better with consumers than First Union. At the same time, Wachovia's name and corporate identity would survive. The deal met with skepticism and criticism. Analysts, remembering the problems with the CoreStates acquisition, were concerned First Union's ability to merge with another large company. Winston-Salem's citizens and politicians suffered a blow to their civic pride because the merged company would be based in Charlotte, home to First Union. City leaders were concerned both by job losses and

13310-401: Was given a gold record for the album. The Yankees retired Rizzuto's number 10 in a ceremony at Yankee Stadium on August 4, 1985. During this ceremony, he was also given a plaque to be placed in the stadium's Monument Park . The plaque makes reference to the fact that he "has enjoyed two outstanding careers, all-time Yankee shortstop, one of the great Yankee broadcasters." Humorously, Rizzuto

13431-493: Was incorporated in 1967. In February 1968, Cameron-Brown Co., a $ 10 billion mortgage banker created in 1955 from the merger of Fidelity Bond & Mortgage Co. started in 1946 in Raleigh and Brown-Hamel Mortgage Co. of Greensboro , changed its name to First Union Mortgage Corp. to match its parent company. As part of a corporate reorganization in 1968, a predecessor of First Union National Bank and First Union Mortgage Corporation,

13552-552: Was innovative and considered a near-genius despite being hobbled by alcohol and a volatile temper. In 1946 MacPhail became aware that Mexican millionaire and ball club owner Jorge Pasquel , just named president of the Mexican League and who with his wealthy two brothers had poached American players from the Negro leagues since 1943, was now courting Major League players. Several clubs lost players with others mentioned including

13673-446: Was moved into the leadoff spot . In 1950, his MVP season, he hit .324 with 200 hits and 92 walks , and scored 125 runs . While leading the league in fielding percentage , Rizzuto handled 238 consecutive chances without an error , setting the single-season record for shortstops. From September 18, 1949, through June 7, 1950, he played 58 games at shortstop without an error, breaking the AL record of 46 set by Eddie Joost in 1947–48;

13794-479: Was no dummy", said singer Meat Loaf. "He knew exactly what was going on, and he told me such. He was just getting some heat from a priest and felt like he had to do something. I totally understood." Years later, Rizzuto would laughingly retell the story saying he got snookered by Meat Loaf, but he had a good attitude about it and when Meat Loaf asked him to go on tour with him, Rizzuto was flattered but declined, jokingly saying that Cora would "kill him" if he did. Rizzuto

13915-554: Was noted for "small ball", strong defense, and clutch hitting, which helped the Yankees win seven World Series . As an offensive player, he is particularly regarded as one of the best bunters of his era; he led the AL in sacrifice hits every season from 1949 to 1952. In retirement, he often tutored players on the bunt during spring training. In the announcing booth, Rizzuto talked about the several different kinds of bunts he would use in different situations. Later during his broadcasting career, he occasionally expressed disappointment that

14036-637: Was organized into four divisions: General Bank (retail, small business, and commercial customers), Wealth Management (high-net-worth, personal trust, and insurance business), Capital Management (asset management, retirement, and retail brokerage services), and Corporate and Investment Bank (capital markets, investment banking, and financial advisory). It served retail brokerage clients under the name Wachovia Securities nationwide as well as in six Latin American countries, and investment banking clients in selected industries nationwide. In 2009, Wachovia Securities

14157-468: Was ranked number one in customer satisfaction among major banks by the University of Michigan 's annual American Customer Satisfaction Index for every year after the merger. When Wachovia and First Union merged, Charlotte's One , Two , and Three First Union buildings became One, Two, and Three Wachovia Center (respectively), and the 55-story First Union Financial Center in downtown Miami became

14278-653: Was subsequently reported that the New York City Department of Health said Rizzuto's official birth certificate is, in fact, dated 1917. Rizzuto grew up in Glendale, Queens. Despite his modest size — usually listed during his playing career as five feet, six inches tall and either 150 or 160 pounds, though he rarely reached even the lower figure — Rizzuto played baseball as well as football at Richmond Hill High School in Queens . Rizzuto signed with

14399-428: Was the acquiring party and nominal survivor, and the merged bank was based in Charlotte and adopted First Union's corporate structure and retained First Union's pre-2001 stock price history. However, as an important part of the merger, the merged bank took Wachovia's name and stock ticker symbol; despite First Union technically being the surviving identity and acquiring party. This merger was viewed with great surprise by

14520-596: Was the first Wachovia business to be converted to the Wells Fargo brand, when the business became Wells Fargo Advisors. Calibre was an independent consultant that was hired by Wachovia for the Family Wealth Group to research managers. The group no longer uses Calibre. The company's corporate and institutional capital markets and investment banking groups operated under the Wachovia Securities brand, while its asset management group operated under

14641-588: Was the first mystery guest on the 1950–67 Goodson-Todman Productions game show What's My Line? hosted by John Charles Daly . Rizzuto made four more appearances on the program, three as a guest panelist in the 1956–1957 season following his retirement, and one in 1970 as the Mystery Guest on a later incarnation of the quiz show. Rizzuto also made various television appearances on programs such as CBS 's The Ed Sullivan Show , To Tell The Truth and The Phil Silvers Show . Alongside his broadcasts for

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