Paul Richardson, the best

It's often said the Phillies don't have a cheer.

That was because of Paul Richardson, who died Monday. He was the Phillies' organist at Veterans Stadium and briefly at Citizens Bank Park.

You never heard "Let's go, Phil - lies," an oh-so-creative chant used by any team in the free world that has a two-syllable mascot, because we had Richardson prompting us to shout "Charge!" at always the right moment. He knew when to hit once, and he knew when to go for three or four in a row.

And how about when your favorite Phillie drew a walk on four straight pitches, putting runners on first and second with nobody out. You know what's next from Richardson... that song actually has a name, "Tarantella," but you probably called it "that Italian song they play during Phillies rallies."

There were so many more musical cues Richardson had, such as that one when the Phillies got out of an inning when the other team definitely should have scored. And we can't forget "Havah Nagilah," another rally song.

It's hard to spell these out here, but I can still hear all of them to this day.

I wish I heard them more often when the Phils moved to the big Bank, but the team only gave Richardson a spot on the concourse, where he couldn't see the game. An unfortunate decision.

Maybe organ music at baseball games is too 20th century for these kids today. But with the passing of Richardson, I remember today how much fun I used to have going to Phillies games.