Legendary Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully died at the age of 94
The renowned broadcaster Vin Scully, who served as the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers' golden-throated voice for 67 years, has passed away. Age-wise, he was 94. His passing was reported by the Dodgers on Tuesday. Scully, a native of the Bronx who started the following baseball at the age of 8, started his broadcasting career at Fordham University after serving in the Navy for two years. He played baseball, called football and basketball games, and even faced off against George H.W. Bush, then Yale University's baseball player, in one game.
He was able to secure employment as a stand-in at WTOP in Washington, DC, after graduating, and this proved to be his big break into sports announcing. At WTOP, he met Red Barber, who would train Scully. Barber brought him along when he joined the Dodgers in 1950, and in just three years, at the age of 25, he became the youngest broadcaster to ever call a World Series. Scully took over as the Dodgers' primary announcer when Barber went to work for the New York Yankees across town a year later. When the Dodgers relocated to Los Angeles in 1958, he moved there and stayed in that position until his retirement in 2016. Scully has handled the microphone for the Dodgers' numerous memorable occasions over the years. In many of those amazing calls, you can hear Scully having the ability that every great broadcaster possesses: the ability to know when to be silent.
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 3, 2022
According to Scully, Hank Aaron's smashing of Babe Ruth's home run record in 1974 was the most significant game he ever broadcast. As for his most dramatic call, Scully also cited Kirk Gibson's incredible home run from Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. Scully called Sandy Koufax's perfect game in 1965 and Don Larsen's illustrious perfect game from Game 5 of the 1956 World Series. Scully made some excellent calls that had nothing to do with plays. He was frequently at his most entertaining when relating tales and imparting knowledge you never imagined you needed to know. Scully educated everyone on the history of beards for about five minutes in his final year as a broadcaster.
Although Scully is primarily remembered as the Dodgers' announcer, he also provided his vocal talents for football, golf, tennis, and other baseball matches. In the 1980s, he worked as a baseball announcer for NBC, calling several All-Star Games and three World Series. He was on the microphone for Game 6 of the 1986 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Mets, and his voice served as the setting for one of the series' most iconic moments.
He worked with John Madden in his debut season as an NFL announcer and called football games in the late 1970s and early 1980s. When Madden passed away in late 2021, Scully spoke about him on NFL Network and recalled how he first noticed Madden's talent for broadcasting. When San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana connected with Larry Clark in the end zone in the 1981 NFC Championship Game, it was one of Scully's most enduring football calls from 1982. With less than a minute remaining, that score and the extra point gave the Niners a one-point advantage over the Dallas Cowboys, setting them up to win the Super Bowl. "The Catch" is the sole title of that play.
The Legacy of Scully
Long before he retired, Scully was already a legend who had received innumerable honors and been inducted into a number of halls of fame. He was presented the Ford Frick Award by the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982 for his significant contributions to broadcasting. In 1995, he received a lifetime achievement Emmy and was also admitted to the National Radio Hall of Fame. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a press box at Dodger Stadium that bears his name, and he has won the title of California Sportscaster of the Year 33 times.
Despite Scully's extensive career, Dodgers' baseball will always be his legacy. For multiple generations of Dodgers fans, his voice alone announced the beginning of summer because he worked alone in the booth for Dodgers games. The voice heard on weeknights after school has let out for the summer is that of his youthful devotees. On July 4, when fireworks lit up the sky, he spoke into the air. On hot August nights, his voice was audible through the humidity. Scully's voice will continue to be heard thanks to technology so long as there are listeners. While the current generation of fans will grow up without hearing him name iconic moments from days long ago, they will be able to hear him do so, offering a window into history and demonstrating that he was among the best broadcasters to ever call a baseball game.
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