Vin Scully | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Scully in 1985 | |
| Born | Vincent Edward Scully (1927-11-29)November 29, 1927 The Bronx, New York City, U.S. |
| Died | August 2, 2022(2022-08-02) (aged 94) Hidden Hills, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Fordham University (B.A.) |
| Occupation | Sportscaster |
| Years active | 1949–2016 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 4 |
| Awards | |
| Sports commentary career | |
| Team | Brooklyn Dodgers /Los Angeles Dodgers (1950–2016) |
| Genre | Play-by-play |
| Sport(s) | Major League Baseball NFL football PGA Tour golf |
| Employer | CBS Sports (1975–1982) NBC Sports (1983–1989) |
Vincent Edward Scully (November 29, 1927 – August 2, 2022) was an Americansportscaster, best known for his broadcast work inMajor League Baseball. Scully was theplay-by-play announcer for theBrooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers for sixty-seven years, beginning in1950 and ending in2016. He is considered by many to be the greatest sports broadcaster of all time.
Born inthe Bronx, New York City, Scully attendedFordham University where he played baseball before becoming a student broadcaster and journalist. After being mentored by Dodgers broadcasterRed Barber early in his career, Scully was hired by theBrooklyn Dodgers in 1950, and moved with them toLos Angeles in 1958. He became known for his distinctive tenor voice and lyrically descriptive style. Scully's tenure with the Dodgers was the longest of any broadcaster with a single team in professional sports history. He retired at age 88 after the 2016 season.
In addition to Dodgers baseball, Scully called various nationally televised football and golf contests forCBS Sports from 1975 to 1982, and was the lead baseball play-by-play announcer forNBC Sports from 1983 to 1989. He also called theWorld Series forCBS Radio from 1979 to 1982 and again from 1990 to 1997.
For his long and distinguished career, Scully was honored with a star of theHollywood Walk of Fame and was inducted into theNational Radio Hall of Fame andNAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame. For his services to baseball, he was honored with theFord C. Frick Award by theBaseball Hall of Fame in 1982. Prior to his final season, the Dodgers honored Scully by renaming the street leading towardsDodger Stadium to "Vin Scully Avenue". That same year, he was awarded thePresidential Medal of Freedom by PresidentBarack Obama. After a long illness, Scully died on August 2, 2022, at his home inHidden Hills, California.
Born on November 29, 1927, inthe Bronx, Scully grew up in theWashington Heights section ofManhattan.[1] His father, Vincent Aloysius Scully, was a silk salesman; his mother, Bridget (née Freehill), was a homemaker.[2] He was of Irish descent. His biological father died ofpneumonia when Scully was four, and his mother later married an English merchant sailor named Allan Reeve, whom Scully considered "my dad".[3] He had one sibling, a younger sister who died of brain cancer in 2002, aged 67. Scully attendedFordham Preparatory School in the Bronx.[4] He worked delivering beer and mail, pushing garment racks and cleaning silver in the basement of thePennsylvania Hotel in New York City.[5]
Scully discovered his love of baseball at age eight when he saw the results of the second game of the1936 World Series at a laundromat and felt a pang of sympathy for the badly defeatedNew York Giants, who had lost the game 18–4 to theNew York Yankees. Since he lived near thePolo Grounds and because he was a member of theNYC Police Athletic League andCatholic Youth Organization, he was able to attend games for free and became a "very big Giants fan".[6]
After serving in theUnited States Navy for two years, Scully began his career as a student broadcaster and journalist atFordham University, where he majored in English.[7] While at Fordham, he helped found itsFM radio stationWFUV (which now presents a Vin Scully Lifetime Achievement Award each year), was assistant sports editor for Volume 28 ofThe Fordham Ram his senior year, sang in abarbershop quartet, playedcenter field for theFordham Rams baseball team,[8] called radio broadcasts for Rams baseball,football, andbasketball, earned a degree, and sent about 150 letters to stations along theEastern seaboard. He received only one response, fromCBS Radio affiliateWTOP in Washington, D.C., which hired him as a fill-in.[9]
Red Barber, the sports director of the CBS Radio Network, recruited Scully for itscollege football coverage. Scully impressed his boss with his coverage of a November 1949University of Maryland versusBoston University football game from frigidFenway Park in Boston, despite having to do so from the stadium roof. Expecting an enclosed press box, Scully had left his coat and gloves at his hotel, but never mentioned his discomfort on the air; the game proved an exciting affair that attracted Barber to ask him for further assignments.[10][11] Barber mentored Scully, and Scully would follow Barber's advice on being an impartial announcer without blatant "homer" connections. When the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles, management had approached Scully about taking a pro-Dodger tone now that the team was the only one in its city (as the minor league Los Angeles teams had done) to which Scully responded weeks later by saying he would stick to objective and factual coverage.[12]
"It's time for Dodger baseball! Hi, everybody, and a very pleasant good afternoon/evening to you, wherever you may be."
AfterErnie Harwell left the Dodgers' radio and television booths for the crosstown Giants before the1950 season, Scully replaced Harwell, joining Barber andConnie Desmond.[13]
When Barber got into a salary dispute withWorld Series sponsorGillette prior to the1953 World Series, Scully took Barber's spot in theNBC television booth, becoming the youngest person to broadcast a World Series (a record that stands to this day). After Barber subsequently left the Dodgers to work for theNew York Yankees beginning in1954, Scully became the team's principal announcer, working with Desmond (1954–56),André Baruch (1954–55),Al Helfer (1955–57), andJerry Doggett (1957). Scully was in the booth when theBrooklyn Dodgers won the1955 World Series, their only championship in Brooklyn. He announced Dodgers games in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles.[14]
Beginning with the1958 season, Scully accompanied the Dodgers to their new location and quickly became popular inSouthern California. During the Dodgers' first four seasons in Los Angeles, inexperienced baseball fans had difficulty following the action in the very largeLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and it soon became common for them to bringtransistor radios to the games to hear Scully and Jerry Doggett describe the action, a practice that continued even after the team moved to the much smallerDodger Stadium for the1962 baseball season. Radio and television engineers often had difficulty compensating for the sound of Scully's play-by-play reverberating through the stands at Dodgers home games.[15]
In 1964, theNew York Yankees offered Scully the job to replace the recently firedMel Allen as their lead play-by-play announcer.[16] Scully declined the offer and chose to remain with the Dodgers. By1976, his popularity in Los Angeles had become such that Dodger fans voted him the "most memorable personality" in the history of the franchise.[17]
Before 1966, local announcers exclusively called the World Series. Typically, theGillette Company, theCommissioner of Baseball andNBC television would choose the announcers, who would represent each of the teams that were in the World Series for the respective year. For the1966 World Series,Curt Gowdy[18] called half of each game before ceding the microphone to Vin Scully inLos Angeles, andChuck Thompson inBaltimore. Scully was not satisfied with the arrangement[19] as he said "What about the road? My fans won't be able to hear me." In Game 1 of the 1966 World Series, Scully called the first 4½ innings. When Gowdy inherited the announcing reins, Scully was so upset that he refused to say another word.[20]
Unlike the typical modern style in which multiple sportscasters have an on-air conversation (usually with one functioning asplay-by-play announcer and another ascolor commentator), Scully and his broadcast partners Jerry Doggett (1956–87) andRoss Porter (1977–2004) each called their innings solo, rotating between radio and television, with Scully working the entire game except for the 3rd and 7th innings. When Doggett retired after the1987 season, he was replaced by Hall-of-Fame Dodgers pitcherDon Drysdale, who previously broadcast games for theCalifornia Angels. Drysdale died in his hotel room following a heart attack before a game against theMontreal Expos in1993, resulting in a very difficult broadcast for Scully and Porter, who were told of the death but could not mention it on-air until Drysdale's family had been notified and the official announcement of the death made.[21] Scully announced the news of his death by saying, "Never have I been asked to make an announcement that hurts me as much as this one. And I say it to you as best I can with a broken heart." Former outfielderRick Monday succeeded Drysdale in the Dodgers' broadcast crew.[22]
On August 28, 2015, the Dodgers announced—via a series ofcue cards presented by comedianJimmy Kimmel on the Dodger Stadium video board—that Scully would be back for the 2016 season, his 67th with the Dodgers.[23] At a press conference August 29, Scully said 2016 would probably be his final year. "I mean, how much longer can you go on fooling people? So yeah, I would be saying, 'Dear God, if you give me next year, I will hang it up.'"[24]
Scully's final regular season game broadcast from Dodger Stadium occurred on September 25, 2016, as the Dodgers defeated theColorado Rockies 4-3 on a walk-off home run byCharlie Culberson to clinch the National League West Division title. His final game was broadcast from San Francisco'sOracle Park on October 2, 2016.[25]
From 1975 to 1982, Scully was employed byCBS Sports, where his most prominent assignment was callingNational Football League (NFL) telecasts. He worked alongside several differentcolor analysts, includingSonny Jurgensen,Paul Hornung,Alex Hawkins,George Allen,Jim Brown,John Madden, andHank Stram. Scully calledDwight Clark's touchdowncatch in theNFC Championship Game on January 10, 1982, which put theSan Francisco 49ers intoSuper Bowl XVI.[26] It was the final NFL game he announced. "This was a hell of a game to quit doing football," he commented.[27]
Scully also contributed to CBS'sPGA Tour golf coverage, usually working withPat Summerall,Ken Venturi, and Ben Wright. From1975 to1982, he was part of the team that covered theMasters Tournament for CBS.[28] He also worked occasionaltennis events for CBS. Scully's CBS commitments led to his working a reduced schedule with the Dodgers, who hiredRoss Porter to cover for games that Scully couldn't call.[29]
Scully also had his first of two stints calling baseball forCBS Radio during this period, broadcasting theAll-Star Game from1977 to1982 (usually paired withBrent Musburger)[30] and theWorld Series from1979 to1982 (alongsideSparky Anderson).[31]
According to CBS Sports producer Terry O'Neil in the bookThe Game Behind the Game, Scully decided to leave CBS in favor of a job callingbaseball games for NBC (beginning in 1983) following a dispute over assignment prominence.[32] CBS decided going into the1981 NFL season thatJohn Madden, whom CBS had hired in 1979 and who had called games alongsideFrank Glieber andGary Bender his first two years, was going to be the starcolor commentator of their NFL television coverage. But they had trouble figuring out who was going to be his play-by-play partner, since Scully was in a battle with CBS' lead play-by-play announcerPat Summerall for the position. At the time Scully was the number two announcer for CBS, a position he had held since 1975, and was calling games alongside the formerKansas City Chiefs head coachHank Stram, who had been promoted from CBS' number three broadcast team alongsideCurt Gowdy.[33]
To resolve the situation, both Scully and Summerall were paired with Madden[33] in four-week stretches, which coincided with each of their respective absences due to other engagements. While Summerall was away calling theUS Open tennis tournament for CBS as he did every September, Scully called the first four weeks of the season alongside Madden. After that Scully went on to cover theNational League Championship Series andWorld Series for CBS Radio, as he had done for the past few Octobers, and Summerall returned to the broadcast booth to work with Madden. Scully then teamed with Stram for the remainder of the NFL season.[33][34]
After the eighth week of the NFL season, CBS Sports decided that Summerall meshed more with Madden than Scully did and it named him to be the announcer who would callSuper Bowl XVI for CBS on January 24, 1982, at thePontiac Silverdome. An angry Scully, who felt that his intelligence had been insulted by the move,[33] was assigned as a consolation prize that year'sNFC Championship Game, which he called alongside Stram. Summerall took Stram's place alongsideJack Buck to call the game overCBS Radio.[33]
Outside ofSouthern California, Vin Scully is best remembered for his stint asNBC Sports' lead play-by-play announcer for itsMajor League Baseball coverage from 1983 to 1989. In addition to working SaturdayGame of the Week telecasts for NBC, Scully called three World Series (1984, 1986, and 1988), fourNational League Championship Series (1983,1985,1987, and1989), and fourAll-Star Games (1983,1985,1987, and1989). Scully also reworked his Dodgers schedule during this period, broadcasting the team's home games on radio and road games on television, with Fridays and Saturdays off so he could work for NBC. During his stint at NBC, Scully provided the call for one of baseball's most memorable plays whenBill Buckner made a tenth-inningerror in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series against theNew York Mets.[35] Scully also calledKirk Gibson's famoushome run during Game 1 of the 1988 World Series.[36]
Teaming withJoe Garagiola (who was the full-time lead play-by-play man for NBC's baseball telecasts from 1976 to 1982 before converting into a color commentary role to work with Scully) for NBC telecasts (except in 1989, when he was paired withTom Seaver after Garagiola left NBC Sports following the 1988 World Series due to a contract dispute), the pair were on hand for several key moments in baseball history:Fred Lynn hitting the firstgrand slam inAll-Star Game history (1983); the1984 Detroit Tigers winning theWorld Series (along the way, he called Tigers pitcherJack Morris'no-hitter against theChicago White Sox on April 7);Ozzie Smith's game-winning home run in Game 5 of the1985 National League Championship Series; theNew York Mets' miracle rally in Game 6 of the1986 World Series; the1987 All-Star Game inOakland, which was deadlocked at 0–0 beforeTim Raines broke up the scoreless tie with a triple in the top of the 13th inning; the first official night game in the history of Chicago'sWrigley Field (August 9,1988);Kirk Gibson's game-winninghome run in Game 1 of the1988 World Series; and chatting with former President of the United StatesRonald Reagan (who said to Scully, "I've been out of work for six months and maybe there's a future here.") in the booth during the1989 All-Star Game inAnaheim asBo Jackson hit a lead-off home run.[37]
On Saturday, June 3, 1989, Scully was doing the play-by-play for the NBCGame of the Week inSt. Louis, where theCardinals beat theChicago Cubs in 10 innings. Meanwhile, theDodgers were playing a series inHouston, where Scully flew to be on hand to call the Sunday game of the series. However, the Saturday night game between the teams was going into extra innings when Scully arrived in town, so he went to the Astrodome instead of his hotel. He picked up the play-by-play, helping to relieve the other Dodger announcers, who were doing both television and radio, and broadcast the final 13 innings (after already calling 10 innings in St. Louis), as the game went 22 innings. He broadcast 23 innings in one day in two different cities.[38]
Laryngitis prevented Scully from calling Game 2 of the1989 National League Championship Series between theSan Francisco Giants andChicago Cubs.Bob Costas, who was working theAmerican League Championship Series betweenOakland andToronto withTony Kubek for NBC, was flown from Toronto to Chicago to fill in that evening (an off day for the ALCS).[39] After the1989 season, NBC (along withABC, with whom NBC had shared baseball coverage since 1976), lost thetelevision rights to cover Major League Baseball toCBS. For the first time since 1946, NBC did not televise baseball. In the aftermath, Scully said of NBC losing baseball, "It's a passing of a great American tradition. It is sad. I really and truly feel that. It will leave a vast window, to use aWashington word, where people will not get Major League Baseball and I think that's a tragedy."[40]
Scully also served as an announcer for NBC'sgolf coverage from 1983 to 1990, usually teaming withLee Trevino.[41]
After the National League Championship Series in 1989, Scully's NBC contract was up and he left to focus primarily on his duties with the Dodgers. Scully also returned to being the national radio announcer for theWorld Series, since CBS Radio gave him the position thatJack Buck had vacated in order to become the primary announcer for CBS's television coverage of Major League Baseball. Scully worked the event from1990 through1997,[42] teaming withJohnny Bench for the first four years andJeff Torborg for the final three. AfterESPN Radio acquired the World Series radio rights from CBS in 1998, Scully was offered a continued play-by-play role but declined.[43] The final World Series game that Scully called was Game 7 of the1997 World Series between theFlorida Marlins andCleveland Indians.[44]
From 1991 to 1996, Scully broadcast the annual golfSkins Game forABC. He also called theSenior Skins Game for ABC from 1992 to 2000, as well as various golf events forTBS during this period.[45][46] In 1999, Scully was the master of ceremonies forMajor League Baseball All-Century Team before the start of Game 2 of theWorld Series.[47]
For health reasons, Scully no longer called most non-playoff games played east of Denver beginning around2005.[48][49] He missed most of the Dodgers' opening homestand of the2012 MLB season (the first five out of six games) because of an illness, returning to the announcers' booth on April 15, 2012, which was the 65th anniversary ofJackie Robinson's breaking of the color barrier in baseball. It was only the second time that Scully had missed aDodger Stadium home opener in his career with the team; the first time was when he was busy broadcasting theMasters golf tournament for CBS in1977.[50]
By his final season in 2016, Scully called approximately 100 games per season (all home games and select road games in San Francisco, San Diego, and Anaheim) for bothflagship radio stationKLAC and television outletSportsNet LA.[51] Scully wassimulcast for the first three innings of each of his appearances, then announced the remaining innings only for the television audience. If Scully was calling the game,Charley Steiner took over play-by-play on radio beginning with the fourth inning, withRick Monday ascolor commentator.[51] If Scully was not calling the game, eitherJoe Davis or Steiner would call the entire game on television withOrel Hershiser andNomar Garciaparra on color commentary, while Monday, now doing play-play, joinedKevin Kennedy on radio.[52]
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On January 31, 2016, Scully announced that he planned to retire from broadcasting after the conclusion of the2016 season; his final game was the team's October 2 finale atSan Francisco. Scully left open the possibility of calling postseason games (but not theWorld Series) if the Dodgers were to advance; in September, however, Scully stated that he would retire after the end of the regular season and not call postseason games because he did not want to "say goodbye 12 different times". Scully was assigned a total of six road games for the 2016 season: the opening game in San Diego, two games in Anaheim, and the entirety of the three-game regular-season closing series in San Francisco.[53]
Scully was honored by the Dodgers during their September 23 home game against the Rockies, which featured apre-game ceremony that paid tribute to his career. The ceremony included speeches by Commissioner of BaseballRob Manfred,Sandy Koufax,Clayton Kershaw, MayorEric Garcetti, the team's Spanish play-by-play manJaime Jarrín (who took over Scully's distinction as the longest-tenured broadcaster in 2017),Kevin Costner, and Scully himself. The team also unveiled thatKirk Gibson's 1988 World Series home run had been named the most memorable Vin Scully call in a fan vote.[54]
His final home game was on September 25, 2016, against the visitingColorado Rockies. The Dodgers ended up winning on a 10th inning walk-off home run byCharlie Culberson and in doing so clinched theNL West Division title.[55] The final broadcast of his career was the Dodgers' October 2 game atAT&T Park against theSan Francisco Giants.[56] Scully's commentary during his final game was simulcast in its entirety on radio, instead of only the first three innings.[57] After the game, he offered a prayer and a final message:
You and I have been friends for a long time, but I know in my heart that I've always needed you more than you've ever needed me, and I'll miss our time together more than I can say. But you know what? There will be a new day and eventually a new year. And when the upcoming winter gives way to spring, rest assured, once again it will be "time for Dodger baseball." So this is Vin Scully wishing you a very pleasant good afternoon, wherever you may be.[58]
The following season, the Dodgers advanced to theWorld Series for the first time in 29 years. Despite many Dodgers fans petitioning Scully to come out of retirement, including Fox Sports announcerJoe Buck (who was quoted as saying, "I swear on mylate father, to have Vin come do some of the series with us and in my place would be an honor"), Scully declined, preferring to keep a low profile and responding that "I've done enough of them."[59] Scully did, however, take part in the first pitch ceremony prior to Game 2 withSteve Yeager andFernando Valenzuela, teammates on the Dodgers team that won the1981 World Series.[60]
In 2020, he was auctioning sports memorabilia in part to donate to neuromuscular research.[61] After the DodgersWorld Series win in 2020, it was announced that Scully would narrate the team's year-end championship documentary.[62]
In 1970,ABC Sports producerRoone Arledge tried to lure Scully to his network to call play-by-play for the then-newMonday Night Football games, but Scully's commitment to the Dodgers forced him to reject the offer.[33]
Besides his sportscasting work, Scully was the uncredited narrator for the short-lived NBC sitcomOccasional Wife.[63] Scully also co-hosted theTournament of Roses Parade withElizabeth Montgomery for ABC in 1967, served as the host for the NBC game showIt Takes Two in 1969–70, and in 1973 hostedThe Vin Scully Show, a weekday afternoon talk-variety show on CBS. In 1977, he hosted the prime-timeChallenge of the Sexes for CBS.[64]
Scully was the announcer in the popularSony PlayStation-exclusiveMLB video game series by989 Sports for a number of years. Scully retired from announcing for video games afterMLB 2005.Matt Vasgersian,Eric Karros, andSteve Lyons (and formerly Dave Campbell and Rex Hudler) took over as the lead announcers in the video game series, which was retitledMLB: The Show. Scully appears as himself in the 1999 filmFor Love of the Game, has a brief cameo (along with then-Dodgers partner Jerry Doggett) in the 1961 filmBachelor in Paradise, appears as a CBS news reporter in the 1960 filmWake Me When It's Over, provides the opening narration in the 1966 filmFireball 500, and can be heard calling baseball games in the filmsExperiment in Terror (1962),Zebra in the Kitchen (1965),The Party (1968),Fever Pitch (2005),The Bucket List (2007), andLicorice Pizza (2021), as well as in episodes of television series includingGeneral Electric Theater,Alcoa Premiere,Mister Ed,The Joey Bishop Show,The Fugitive,Highway to Heaven, andBrooklyn Bridge.[65] The surname of theDana Scully character on the television showThe X-Files is an homage to Vin Scully, as the show's creatorChris Carter is a Dodgers fan; Scully himself can be heard calling a game in the Season 6 episode "The Unnatural".[66][67]
In 1965, Scully recorded twospoken word songs as part of the albumThe Sound of the Dodgers: "What Is A Dodger?" and "The Story Of The L. A. Dodgers".[68]
Harry Shearer impersonated Scully in asketch forSaturday Night Live,[69] and has used the voice forThe Simpsons when the storyline includes the fictional team theSpringfield Isotopes.[70]
San Francisco Giants broadcasterJon Miller is known for his impersonation of Scully.[71]
Scully received theFord Frick Award from theNational Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982.[72] He was honored with a Lifetime AchievementEmmy Award for sportscasting,[73] and was inducted into theNational Radio Hall of Fame in 1995.[74] TheNational Sports Media Association (formerly the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association) named Scully as National Sportscaster of the Year four times (1965, 1978, 1982, 2016) and California Sportscaster of the Year 33 times, and inducted him into its Hall of Fame in 1991.[75] He was the 1992 Hall of Fame inductee of theAmerican Sportscasters Association, which also named him Sportscaster of the Century (2000) and top sportscaster of all-time on its Top 50 list (2009).[76] TheCalifornia Sports Hall of Fame inducted Scully in 2008.[77] Scully was inducted into theNAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2009. On May 11, 2009, he was awarded the Ambassador Award of Excellence by the LA Sports & Entertainment Commission.[78]
On an episode ofMLB Network's seriesPrime 9, about the nine greatest baseball broadcasters of all time, Scully was named No. 1.[79]
Scully has a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame at 6675 Hollywood Blvd. Since2001, thepress box atDodger Stadium has been named for Scully,[80] and a street within the team's formerDodgertown spring training facility inVero Beach, Florida was named "Vin Scully Way".[81]
WFUV, the Fordham University radio station that Scully helped found, presents an annual Vin Scully Lifetime Achievement Award for sports broadcasting. Scully himself was the inaugural recipient of the award in 2008.[82]
Scully served as theGrand Marshal for the 2014Tournament of Roses Parade.[83] Also, he participated aboard the Los Angeles Dodgers' 50th anniversary float in the 2008 Tournament of Roses Parade.[84]
On September 5, 2014,Bud Selig presented Scully with theCommissioner's Historic Achievement Award. He was the 14th recipient and (afterRachel Robinson) second non-player to receive the award, which was created to recognize accomplishments and contributions of historical significance to the game of baseball.[85]
Several honors were bestowed in 2016, Scully's final year. On January 29, theLos Angeles City Council voted unanimously to rename Elysian Park Avenue, which changed the address ofDodger Stadium to 1000 Vin Scully Ave.[86] July 8 was dubbed "Vin Scully Day" by the actinggovernor of California,Kevin de León.[87] During the pre-game ceremony on September 23, 2016, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti presented Vin Scully with thekey to the city.[88] On November 22, Scully received thePresidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor given by the President of the United States.[89]
In 2017, Scully's commentary for the finalBrooklyn Dodgers/New York Giants game in 1957 was selected for preservation in theNational Recording Registry by theLibrary of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[90] Also in 2017, Scully won the Icon Award as part ofthat year's ESPY Awards ceremony.[91]
At Game 2 of the2017 World Series, being played at Dodger Stadium, Scully participated in a pre-game ceremony; addressing the crowd over the PA system, he implied that he was about to throw the ceremonial first pitch, and introducedSteve Yeager to serve as a ceremonial catcher. However, Scully then claimed that he could not actually pitch because he had hurt hisrotator cuff, resulting in him introducing the actual ceremonial pitcher,Fernando Valenzuela. Scully also uttered his famous introduction, "It's time for Dodger baseball!"[92]
In 1972, Scully's 35-year-old wife Joan Crawford died of an accidental medical overdose; the couple had been married for 15 years. In late 1973, he married Sandra Hunt, who had two children of her own, and they soon had a child together.[93] Scully's eldest son, Michael, died in a helicopter crash at the age of 33 while working for the ARCO Transportation Company. He was inspecting oil pipelines for leaks nearFort Tejon, California, in the immediate aftermath of the1994 Northridge earthquake.[94]
Although Michael's death still haunted him, Scully, a devoutRoman Catholic, said in numerous interviews that he credited his religious faith and being able to dive back into his work with helping him ease the burden and grief from losing his wife and son.[95] He encourageddevotion to the Virgin Mary, saying, "Her prayers are more powerful than those of the rest of heaven combined. No one was closer or more devoted to Christ on earth, so it only makes sense to see the same thing in heaven. Now, the Blessed Virgin seeks to help her spiritual children get home to spend eternity with her Son."[95] In 2016, Scully narrated an audio recording of the Rosary for Catholic Athletes for Christ in which he recites the Rosary mysteries and leads a group of responders.[96]
In November 2017, Scully stated that he would "never watch another NFL game again," due to some of the league's playerskneeling during the playing of the national anthem prior to games.[97]
Scully had four children, two stepchildren, twenty-one grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. He resided inThousand Oaks, California, and attended St. Jude the Apostle Church inWestlake Village, California.[98] He was a second cousin of the formerLord Mayor of Dublin,Mary Freehill.[99]
Scully and his second wife Sandra were married for 48 years until Sandra's death fromamyotrophic lateral sclerosis on January 3, 2021.[100]
On August 2, 2022, Scully died at home inHidden Hills, California, at age 94.[101] His funeral was held at St. Jude the Apostle Roman Catholic Church, inWestlake Village, California, on August 8.[102]
Upon his death,Rob Manfred, theCommissioner of Baseball, released a statement:
Today, we mourn the loss of a legend in our game. Vin was an extraordinary man whose gift for broadcasting brought joy to generations of Dodger fans. In addition, his voice played a memorable role in some of the greatest moments in the history of our sport. I am proud that Vin was synonymous with baseball because he embodied the very best of our National Pastime. As great as he was as a broadcaster, he was equally great as a person. On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my deepest condolences to Vin's family, friends, Dodger fans and his admirers everywhere.[103]
TheDodgers had just beaten theSan Francisco Giants atOracle Park when Scully's death was announced by public address announcerRenel Brooks-Moon. The Giants, who had been Scully's favorite team growing up, paid tribute to Scully on their video board while the Dodgers team gathered on the field.[104]
Afterwards, Dodgers fans left tributes to Scully at the entrance ofDodger Stadium where the address bore his name. Broadcasters, sports teams, politicians, and athletes paid tribute to Scully as well.[105]
On August 6, the Dodgers held a pre-game ceremony during which a tribute video was played and photo montage was shown. Outside the television booth, from where Scully broadcast games, hung a banner saying "We'll miss you". ManagerDave Roberts ended the pre-game ceremony with Scully's iconic catch phrase: "It's time for Dodger baseball!"[106]
First and foremost comes his love of language, born of being a Literature major at Fordham.
| Media offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | World Series network television play-by-play announcer 1983–1989 (concurrent withABC'sAl Michaels in even numbered years) Further information:List of World Series broadcasters Additionally, Scully also called seven World Series as a representative of theDodgers, and not as a network employee, in the 1950s–1970s. | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | World Series national radio play-by-play announcer 1979–1982 1990–1997 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lead play-by-play announcer, Major League Baseball on NBC 1983–1989 | Succeeded by Bob Costas (in1994) |
| Preceded by | LeadMajor League Baseball Game of the Week play-by-play announcer 1983–1989 | Succeeded by |
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