Vincent Edward Scully, affectionately known to the world as Vin Scully, passed away on Aug. 2, 2022. He was famously known as the sportscaster for Major League Baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers since the 1950s, when the franchise was in Brooklyn, according to Wikipedia.
Scully served the Dodgers and their fans for 67 years until he passed away at age 94, reported ESPN News Services.
“We have lost an icon,” said Dodgers President and CEO Stan Kasten in a statement. “Vin Scully was one of the greatest voices in all of sports. He was a giant of a man, not only as a broadcaster but as a humanitarian. He loved people. He loved life.”
Kasten lauded Scully and his love for the sport and family, and he sent his condolences to Scully’s family.
Scully’s extensive career earned him an abundance of awards and recognition from the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982, the National Radio Hall of Fame in 1995, and the California Sports Hall of Fame in 2008. Scully was inducted into the NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2009. His broadcasting skills even earned him an Emmy.
He played sports at his alma mater, Fordham University. He went on to be hired at CBS as a broadcaster and later switched to NBC. Scully’s voice was heard over the PA systems of many different sports, from football to golf to baseball. According to Wikipedia, Scully even commented on tennis. Scully called the play-by-play with his unique voice and he will be missed in the broadcasting world, just as he was missed when he retired in 2016.
“He was the best there ever was,” said Clayton Ker-shaw after a Dodgers game. “Just when you think about the Dodgers, there’s a lot of history here and a lot of people that have come through. It’s just a storied franchise all the way around. But it almost starts with Vin, honestly. Just such a special man. I’m grateful and thankful I got to know him as well as I did.”
Scully called the play-by-plays of well over a thousand games in his career. He also had the opportunity to be the voice that shouted out history-making events and record-breaking home runs of some of the greatest names in baseball history.
That includes Hank Aaron and his 715th career home run that broke the legendary Babe Ruth’s record in 1974. Scully was there in 1956 when Don Larsen pitched a no-hitter. He saw Barry Bonds break records in 2001. Scully was there at the turning of an era in baseball history when racism was prevalent in all sports, and he witnessed Hank Aaron receive a standing ovation when he broke Babe Ruth’s record against the Dodgers.
“A Black man is getting a standing ovation in the Deep South for breaking a record of an all-time idol,” Scully said. “What a marvelous moment for baseball.”
Scully saw the 1950s era baseball with historical greats like Jackie Robinson and Pee Wee Reese on through the ’60s and ’70s with Don Drysdale, Sandy Koufax, Steve Garvey and Don Sutton, noted ESPN News Services.
He received praise from just about everybody in the sports arena — from past and present Dodgers players, to general managers and other front-office executives, to Magic Johnson. The world lost a sports icon.
