NFL
By George Lopez
On Tuesday, August 2, 2022, the world of baseball said goodbye to a legend as Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully passed away at the age of 94. Los Angeles sports fans grew up with legendary announcers from Chick Hearn with the Lakers to Bob Miller with the Los Angeles Kings. As great as they were, they both looked up to Vin Scully. Los Angeles Dodgers fans were blessed to have Vin Scully call Dodgers games for 67 years. Vin Scully was not only the voice of the Dodgers, he was the voice of baseball.
Growing up as a Dodgers fan, there was a countless number of times I would go to a Dodgers game, and people were there with their transistor radios. Even though they were watching the game at Dodgers Stadium, fans wanted to hear Vin Scully call the game. When he was calling games, he made you feel as though he was just talking with you as he described what was going on during the game. When you listened to his radio broadcast, you were able to close your eyes and you would swear you were two feet from the play. How many Dodgers fans would go to bed with their transistor radio under their pillow listening to Vin Scully calling a Dodgers game. He described the game with such elegance and a poetic voice.
During his broadcasting career, Vin Scully was behind the mic for some of the most famous calls in baseball. If Dodgers fans of a certain age hear “High fly ball into right field, she is gone!!!!” they automatically can see Kirk Gibson’s walk-off homerun in game 1 of the 1988 World Series. He called 25 world series, 12 all-star games, and 21 no-hitters, and 3 perfect games. His most famous one was his call of Sandy Koufax’s perfect game against the Chicago Cubs. In baseball, his most poignant call was the night Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s career homerun record in 1974. After Aaron broke the record, Vin Scully talked about how Hank Aaron, a black man was getting a standing ovation in the deep south after breaking Ruth’s record. That broadcast was about more than baseball and Vin Scully was able to capture that moment so eloquently. We
People may not realize that Vin Scully wasn’t just a baseball announcer. He called many PGA tournaments as well as NFL games. His most famous call in the NFL was the 1981 NFC championship game, known to football fans as “The Catch”.
One of the many things that made Vin Scully so great were the stories he would tell during his broadcast. What was so amazing, in his 67 years on air, he never repeated a story. Personally, one of my favorite stories he told was the time he beat Jackie Robinson in a race on ice skates. He told the story as though it had happened the previous day.
For his career, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982 and received numerous awards and accolades. In 2016 he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama. With all the accolades he received during his career, Vin Scully always remained humbled. He would often say that he needed the fans more than they needed him. No Vin Scully, we needed you more than you will ever know. He meant so much to Dodgers fans, he was voted as one of the greatest Dodgers even though he never played one inning for the Dodgers.
In the city of Los Angeles, fans of the Los Angeles Dodgers and baseball are mourning the passing of a true Icon. We take comfort in all the memories he has left us to cherish. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Scully family. Rest in paradise Vin Scully. Heaven now has the greatest announcer to call the game played by the greats who went before him. I’ll end this with the 5 words made famous by Vin Scully…”It’s Time for Dodgers Baseball”
