Miscellaneous
Ashburn was well known for his dry humor as a broadcaster. On one occasion he was talking to Harry Kalas about his superstitions during his playing days. He said that he once had a habit of keeping a successful baseball bat in bed with him between games, not trusting the clubhouse crew to give him the same bat the next day. Ashburn told Kalas that he had "slept with a lot of old bats" in his day.
When calling late innings, Ashburn would occasionally ask on-air if the staff of Celebre's Pizza, a nearby pizzeria in South Philly, was listening to the radio. Pizza would then arrive at the radio booth 15–20 minutes later. The Phillies requested that Ashburn discontinue the practice, as Celebre's was not a Phillies sponsor, and it was considered free advertising.
Ashburn was allowed to make on-air birthday and anniversary wishes during Phillies games. To circumvent the Phillies' request he started to say, "I'd like to send out a special birthday wish to the Celebre's twins – Plain & Pepperoni!" Harry Kalas was heard on radio in 2007 making a similar wish.
Ruben Amaro, Jr., current general manager of the Phillies and son and namesake of Rubén Amaro, Sr., Phillies shortstop from the sixties and coach, co-founded the Richie Ashburn Foundation, which provides free baseball camp for 1,100 underprivileged children in the Delaware Valley and awards grants to area schools and colleges.
Ted Williams gave Ashburn the nickname "Putt-Putt" because he ran so fast you would think he had twin motors in his pants. The origin of the nickname also has been attributed to Stan Musial.
The book, "Richie Ashburn: Why The Hall Not?", is about Richie's journey to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
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