Vin Scully

Sportscaster Vin Scully's silky voice and vivid turns of phrase transcend the sport of baseball. For over 60 years he has called games all by himself, painting word-portraits of the national pastime like none other. He stands with the great figures in the storied history of the Los Angeles Dodgers, predating the team's move from Brooklyn in 1958. Beyond Dodgers baseball, Scully's melodic tones have provided the soundtrack for some of the greatest moments in sports, including the fall of Babe Ruth's all-time homer run record, Bill Buckner's entry into infamy, and Joe Montana's most famous touchdown pass. Unequivocally, Scully is a national treasure and one of the best sportscasters of all time.

Born Vincent Edward Scully on November 27, 1927 in The Bronx section of New York City, his mother was a homemaker from Ireland and his father sold silk in an upscale clothing store. His biological father died from pneumonia when Vin was four; he was mainly raised by his mother and stepfather. Scully decided to become a sportscaster when he was just eight years old. He would make a fort under his bed and listen to college football games on the radio. Whenever a touchdown was scored, crowd noise poured forth like "water out of a showerhead." He was hooked.

Scully attended Fordham Prep in The Bronx and went on to Fordham University. He possessed a deep work ethic, juggling roles as a barbershop quartet singer, centerfielder for the Fordham Rams, co-founder of the radio station WFUV, and announcer for multiple sports. He even served in the Navy before getting his degree. His professional play-by-play debut on CBS radio in November 1949 nearly ended before he had begun. Believing he would be in a booth to call the game, Scully left his hat, gloves, and coat at the hotel. When he arrived at Fenway Park for Boston University's football game against Maryland, he discovered he was announcing the game from the roof. Scully worked in frigid temperatures while exposed to the elements, but never mentioned his harrowing vantage point on air.

That impressive professionalism and natural grace quickly got him noticed. In 1950, venerable announcer Red Barber handpicked Scully to call Dodgers games with him. Barber called Scully's mother to tell her, but she thought it was comedian Red Skelton. Suddenly, 22-year-old Vin was calling games next to a legend. In 1953, Barber became embroiled in a salary dispute, so the 25-year-old Scully became the youngest man to announce a World Series game (and still remains so). He was so nervous that day, he couldn't stomach the lavish breakfast he had eaten.

Fast forward more than 60 years, and Scully remained in front of the microphone for Dodgers games. In 1982, he earned both a bust in the Baseball Hall of Fame and a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame. Since then, he has been inducted into no less than five other halls of fame. Scully was in the booth for nearly every notable moment in Dodgers history, but the most special one to him was Johnny Podres' shutout of the Yankees in Game 7 of the 1955 World Series, Brooklyn's only title. The next year, he called Don Larsen's perfect game against the Dodgers in the 1956 World Series.

Scully set the stage with the appropriate tension: "Let's all take a deep breath as we go to the most dramatic ninth inning in the history of baseball. I'm going to sit back, light up, and hope I don't chew the cigarette to pieces." He called Sandy Koufax's 1965 perfect game, which featured a record 14 strikeouts, saying, "that K stands out even more than the O-U-F-A-X." He also called perfect games by Tom Browning in 1988 and Dennis Martinez in 1991.

Scully also called Hank Aaron's 715th home run and noted the racial and historical significance of the feat with his call: "What a marvelous moment for baseball; what a marvelous moment for Atlanta and the state of Georgia; what a marvelous moment for the country and the world. A black man is getting a standing ovation in the Deep South for breaking a record of an all-time baseball idol. And it is a great moment for all of us, and particularly for Henry Aaron."
Some may not remember Scully's foray into football. In 1982, a play known simply as "The Catch," which lifted the San Francisco 49ers past the Dallas Cowboys and into Super Bowl XVI. One of the most iconic plays in NFL history, Dwight Clark soared over the back of the end zone and snagged Joe Montana's arcing desperation pass in the waning moments. "It's a madhouse at Candlestick!" remarked Scully.

Baseball has always been Scully's bread and butter. Scully's call of Game 6 in 1986 echoes in the ears of both Boston Red Sox and New York Mets fans: "Little roller up along first. Behind the bag! It gets through Buckner! Here comes Knight, and the Mets win it!" On the cusp of their first World Series since the end of World War I, the Red Sox saw their title hopes roll right through Buckner's wickets. The final among Scully's most famous broadcasts is Kirk Gibson's pinch-hit walk-off home run to win Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. Unable to start because of injuries to his left hamstring and right knee, Gibson hobbled to the plate and swatted a thrilling homer off Dennis Eckersley. With the stadium in ecstasy, Scully exclaimed, "In a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened!" He also observed, "The only question was, could he make it around the base paths unassisted?"

Vin Scully etched his unique view of the world upon baseball lore, using both wit and honesty. He said about Bob Gibson, "He pitches as though he's double-parked." On Maury Wills: "When he runs, it's all downhill." On Andre Dawson's bruised knee: "(He) is listed as day-to-day. Aren't we all?" And he once lamented of his own employer, "The Dodgers are such a .500 team that if there was a way to split a three-game series, they'd find it."

Vin Scully died on August 2, 2022 at the age of 94.