The sports world is mourning the passing of legend Vin Scully who died at the age of 94 after spending 67 years as the golden-throated voice of the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Dodgers announced Scully's death on Tuesday but a cause of death was not initially revealed. Scully is a Bronx native who became a baseball fan at the early age of eight years old and later began his broadcasting career at Fordham University after spending two years in the Navy.
Dodgers Legend Vin Scully
He called football and basketball games and also dabbled in baseball, where he also played a game against then-future president George H.W. Bush, who was on Yale University's baseball team.
After he graduated, Scully managed to find work as a fill-in at WTOP in Washington, DC, in 1949, which ended up being his big break into sports announcing. There, he met Red Barber, who would later become his mentor.
Barber brought Scully along in 1950 when he was hired by the Dodgers and in just three short years, Scully became the youngest broadcaster to ever call a World Series at the age of 25. After a year, Barber left to work for the crosstown New York Yankees, making Scully the Dodgers' main announcer, as per Yahoo Sports.
Scully was at the mic for countless special moments for the Dodgers over the years and in many of his great calls, he was known to possess a skill that every great broadcaster possesses, knowing when to stay quiet.
In 2022, he said that Hank Aaron breaking Babe Ruth's home run record in 1974 was the most important game he ever called. Furthermore, Scully named Kirk Gibson's miraculous home run from Game 1 of the 1988 World Series as his most theatrical call.
According to ESPN, Scully was known to have kept his own scorebook where he wrote starters' names in blue ballpoint pen and pinch hitters and relievers in red pink. He also researched his own game prep on the internet and stashed Jolly Rancher candies in his glasses case to keep his mouth moist between innings.
Scully's Legendary History
Scully memorized each day's starting lineup after one look at the press box whiteboard and tended to stay clear of the field and the clubhouse. He hung his sports coat on a hanger on the wall of the broadcast booth over his left shoulder.
Many reacted to Scully's passing and expressed their condolences to his family, including LeBron James, with some remembering the greatness that he created in the world of sports. Bob Costas, a sports broadcaster, once said that he regarded Scully as the master of radio and TV.
Rest in Power. A City of Angels icon. Another great one who made sports so damn special. #LoveLA💙 https://t.co/zHPD78KEsE
— LeBron James (@KingJames) August 3, 2022
The longtime Los Angeles manager, Tommy Lasorda, said that Scully was never a cheerleader in his work. He called the play-by-play for the Dodgers' local TV and radio broadcasts without a color analyst, lest he loses his connection to the viewers and listeners he invited to "pull up a chair."
The Dodgers largely limited their broadcasts to radio in their early years in Los Angeles but they slowly expanded TV coverage. Scully called all innings of the telecasts and began simulcasting on the radio for the first three innings of every game in 2000, the New York Times reported.
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