Vin Scully broadcast Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers games for 67 years. He is considered one of the greatest, if not the greatest, play-by-play voices of all time.
Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Gil Hodges, Pee Wee Reese, Maury Wills, Steve Garvey, Fernando Valenzuela, Orel Hershiser, and Clayton Kershaw are just a few of the players that Vin Scully called from the booth. There were memorable games, too, such as Sandy Koufax’s perfect game, Henry Aaron’s 715th home run, Bill Buckner’s error in the 1986 World Series, and Kirk Gibson’s clutch home run in the 1988 World Series.
Many of you reading this column already know what I just wrote. But here are nine things you may not know about Vin Scully.
ONE: Played college baseball against President George H.W. Bush. Scully was the lead-off man and played centerfield for the Fordham University Rams, and the future president played first base for Yale University Bulldogs. They competed against each other on April 12, 1947, in a game that Yale won 3-1.
TWO: Broadcast football games before transitioning to baseball. He got his big break by way of legendary Brooklyn Dodgers announcer Red Barber, who was then the Sports Director of CBS Radio Network. It was as the play-by-play man for a college game, Maryland vs. Boston University, on November 12, 1949, from Fenway Park in Boston. Scully had no comfort or protection while calling the game. With no room in the press box, he called it from a card table on the roof in the frigid cold, without coat or gloves. Scully never acknowledged the conditions or how cold it was, probably because it was a tight, exciting game. The Terrapins beat #15 BU, 14-13, and then swapped that ranking spot with the Terriers in the AP poll the following week.
THREE: Youngest to call the World Series. When Barber got into a salary dispute with a corporate sponsor, 25-year-old Scully took his spot in the NBC television booth during the 1953 World Series. He remains the youngest broadcaster ever to call a World Series game, and he also remembered it as one of the most nerve-wracking assignments of his life. In a crosstown series, the Yankees beat the Dodgers in six games.
FOUR: Raced against Jackie Robinson. Scully grew up enjoying ice skating and continued skating as an adult, often at Grossinger’s Resort in the Catskill Mountains while he broadcast games for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He invited Jackie Robinson, who played for Brooklyn, to join during one of those forays. Robinson had never skated before and spent a lot of time trying to stay upright. Scully challenged Robinson to an ice skating race, which he had no trouble winning.
FIVE: His favorite player competed for the New York Giants. Back in the day, it was heresy for a Dodger fan to side with the Giants, and vice versa. But Scully did just that by picking Mel Ott (1926 to 1947) as his favorite player. More heresy? Yes! Scully also said that the Giants’ Willie Mays was the best major leaguer he ever saw play.
SIX: A Game Show Host: Scully hosted It Takes Two, which aired on NBC from 1969 to 1970. Three celebrities, each paired with a contestant, would answer a series of questions requiring numerical responses.
SEVEN: “A VIN OF ALL TRADES”: Scully covered an array of sports while employed by CBS Sports from 1975 to 1982. He is probably best remembered for calling PGA events, including The Masters. He also called NFL games, and his final NFL telecast on CBS was the 1982 NFC Championship Game. He also called “The Catch,” i.e., Dwight Clark’s touchdown catch, which helped the San Francisco 49ers into Super Bowl 16.
EIGHT: Performed on an Album: In 1965, Scully recorded two spoken-word songs for the baseball-themed album The Sound of the Dodgers. The songs were “What Is A Dodger?” and “The Story Of The L.A. Dodgers.”
NINE: City Streets Named in His Honor: One street is in Vero Beach, Florida (1982), where for years the Dodgers spent Spring Training, and the other is in Los Angeles (2016), where Scully resided after the Dodgers moved to the West Coast. An interesting story about the LA naming is that, for years, Scully refused efforts to name a street after him. He relented during his final year of broadcasting. So, a stretch of road between Sunset Blvd. and Dodger Stadium is now called Vin Scully Avenue.
The extraordinary Vin Scully passed away in 2022 at the age of 94. Six years earlier, he offered these words after calling his last game, October 2, 2016:
“You know friends, so many people have wished me congratulations on a 67-year career in baseball, and they’ve wished me a wonderful retirement with my family. And now, all I can do is tell you what I wish for you.
May God give you for every storm, a rainbow,
For every tear, a smile,
For every care, a promise,
And a blessing in each trial.
For every problem life sends,
A faithful friend to share,
For every sigh, a sweet song,
And an answer for each prayer.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 needed me, and I’ll miss our time together more 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 it will be time for Dodger baseball.
So this is Vin Scully, wishing you a very pleasant good afternoon, wherever you may be.”
