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Vincent Edward Scully (November 29, 1927 – August 2, 2022) was an American sportscaster. He was best known for his 67 seasons calling games for
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...
's
Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League West, West division. Established in 1883 i ...
, beginning in 1950 (when the franchise was located in
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
) and ending in
2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
. Scully's tenure with the Dodgers was the longest of any broadcaster with a single team in professional sports history, and he was second only to
Tommy Lasorda Thomas Charles Lasorda (September 22, 1927 – January 7, 2021) was an American professional baseball pitcher and manager. He managed the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1976 through 1996. He was inducted into the Natio ...
(by two years) in terms of number of years associated with the Dodgers organization in any capacity. He retired at age 88 in 2016, ending his record-breaking run as the team's
play-by-play In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time commentary of a game or event, usually during a live broadcast, traditionally delivered in the historical present tense. Radio was ...
announcer. In his final season behind the microphone, Scully announced most Dodgers home games (and selected road games) on
SportsNet LA Spectrum SportsNet LA and Spectrum Deportes LA (otherwise known as simply SportsNet LA and Deportes LA and originally known as Time Warner Cable SportsNet LA) is an American regional sports network jointly owned by the Los Angeles Dodgers Major ...
television and
KLAC KLAC (570 AM) is a commercial sports radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, serving Greater Los Angeles and much of surrounding Southern California. Owned by a joint venture between iHeartMedia, Inc. and the Los Angeles Dodgers b ...
radio. He was known for his distinctive voice, lyrically descriptive style, and signature introduction to Dodgers games: "It's time for Dodger baseball! Hi, everybody, and a very pleasant good (afternoon/evening) to you, wherever you may be." He is considered by many to be the greatest baseball broadcaster of all time, according to fan rankings,
Bleacher Report Bleacher Report (often abbreviated as B/R) is a website that focuses on sport and sports culture. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, with offices in New York City and London. Bleacher Report was acquired by Turner Broadcasting System in ...
and
Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the F ...
. In addition to Dodgers baseball, Scully called various nationally-televised football and golf contests for
CBS Sports CBS Sports is the sports division of the American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on W ...
from 1975 to 1982, and was
NBC Sports NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its ...
' lead baseball play-by-play announcer from 1983 to 1989. He also called the
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...
for
CBS Radio CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broad ...
from 1979 to 1982 and again from 1990 to 1997.


Early life

Born in
the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...
, Scully grew up in the Washington Heights section of
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
.Sandomir, Richard
"Daffy Days of Brooklyn Return for Vin Scully"
/ref> His father, Vincent Aloysius Scully, was a silk salesman; his mother, Bridget (Freehill), was a homemaker. He was of Irish descent. His biological father died of
pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severit ...
when Scully was four, and his mother later married an English merchant sailor named Allan Reeve, whom Scully considered "my dad". He had one sibling, a younger sister who died of brain cancer in 2002, aged 65. Scully attended
Fordham Preparatory School Fordham Preparatory School (also known as Fordham Prep) is an American private, Jesuit, boys' college-preparatory school located on the Rose Hill campus of Fordham University in the Bronx, New York City. From its founding in 1841 until 1970, ...
in the Bronx. He worked delivering beer and mail, pushing garment racks and cleaning silver in the basement of the
Pennsylvania Hotel The Hotel Pennsylvania was a historic hotel at 401 Seventh Avenue (15 Penn Plaza) in Manhattan, across the street from Pennsylvania Station and Madison Square Garden in New York City. Opened in 1919, it was once the largest hotel in the world. ...
in New York City. Scully discovered his love of baseball at age eight when he saw the results of the second game of the 1936 World Series at a laundromat and felt a pang of sympathy for the badly defeated
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...
, who had lost the game 18–4 to the
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...
. Since he lived near the
Polo Grounds The Polo Grounds was the name of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used mainly for professional baseball and American football from 1880 through 1963. The original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876 and demolished in 1889, was built fo ...
and because he was a member of the NYC Police Athletic League and
Catholic Youth Organization Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) is an international Catholic youth movement founded by Bishop Bernard Sheil in Chicago in 1930. It would become a major factor in the development of race relations in the US Catholic Church following World War ...
, he was able to attend games for free and became a "very big Giants fan".


Broadcasting career


From Fordham to CBS Radio

After serving in the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
for two years, Scully began his career as a student broadcaster and journalist at
Fordham University Fordham University () is a private Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its original campus is located, Fordham is the oldest Catholic and Jesuit un ...
, where he majored in English. While at Fordham, he helped found its FM radio station WFUV (which now presents a Vin Scully Lifetime Achievement Award each year), was assistant sports editor for Volume 28 of '' The Fordham Ram'' his senior year, sang in a
barbershop quartet A barbershop quartet is a group of four singers who sing music in the barbershop style, characterized by four-part harmony without instrumental accompaniment, or a cappella. The four voices are: the lead, the vocal part which typically carries t ...
, played
center field A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the ce ...
for the
Fordham Rams baseball The Fordham Rams baseball team of Fordham University in New York City has been in existence since its first game played against the now-defunct St. Francis Xavier College in Manhattan, the first collegiate baseball game played with nine-man teams ...
team (wearing number 17), called radio broadcasts for Rams baseball,
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
, and
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
, earned a degree, and sent about 150 letters to stations along the Eastern seaboard. He received only one response, from
CBS Radio CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broad ...
affiliate WTOP in Washington, D.C., which hired him as a fill-in.
Red Barber Walter Lanier "Red" Barber (February 17, 1908 – October 22, 1992) was an American sports announcer and author. Nicknamed "The Ol' Redhead", he was primarily identified with broadcasts of Major League Baseball, calling play-by-play across four ...
, the sports director of the CBS Radio Network, recruited Scully for its
college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...
coverage. Scully impressed his boss with his coverage of a November 1949
University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of ...
versus
Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original cam ...
football game from frigid
Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and Boston Braves (baseball), since 1953, i ...
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. 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.


Dodgers (1950–2016)


Brooklyn (1950–1957)

In 1950, Scully joined Barber and
Connie Desmond Cornelius "Connie" Desmond (January 31, 1908 – March 10, 1983) was an American sportscaster, most prominently for the Brooklyn Dodgers of Major League Baseball. Desmond began his career in 1932 as the voice of the minor league Toledo Mud He ...
in the
Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, Californi ...
' radio and television booths, replacing
Ernie Harwell William Earnest Harwell (January 25, 1918 – May 4, 2010) was an American sportscaster, known for his long career calling play-by-play of Major League Baseball games. For 55 seasons, 42 of them with the Detroit Tigers, Harwell called the actio ...
after the latter departed for the crosstown Giants. When Barber got into a salary dispute with
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...
sponsor
Gillette Gillette is an American brand of safety razors and other personal care products including shaving supplies, owned by the multi-national corporation Procter & Gamble (P&G). Based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, it was owned by The Gill ...
prior to the
1953 World Series The 1953 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1953 season. The 50th edition of the World Series, it matched the four-time defending champions New York Yankees against the Brooklyn Dodgers in a rematch of t ...
, Scully took Barber's spot in the
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
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 the
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...
beginning in
1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...
, Scully became the team's principal announcer, working with Desmond (1954–56),
André Baruch André Baruch (August 20, 1908 – September 15, 1991) was a French-American film narrator, radio announcer, news commentator, talk show host, disc jockey and sportscaster. He hosted radio programs from the 1940s to the 1980s with Bea Wain, his ...
(1954–55),
Al Helfer George Alvin "Al" Helfer (September 26, 1911 – May 16, 1975) was an American radio sportscaster. Nicknamed "Mr. Radio Baseball", Helfer called the play-by-play of seven World Series, ten All-Star Games, and regular season broadcasts for sev ...
(1955–57), and
Jerry Doggett Jerome Howard Doggett (September 14, 1916 – July 7, 1997) was an American sportscaster who called games for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball from 1956 to 1987. Early days Doggett was born in Moberly, Missouri an ...
(1957). Scully announced Dodgers games in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles. During that time, Dodgers broadcasts were heard over WMGM radio (1050) on the AM dial, as well as WOR-TV (channel 9) both in New York.


Los Angeles (1958–2016)

Beginning with the 1958 season, Scully accompanied the Dodgers to their new location and quickly became popular in
Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...
. During the Dodgers' first four seasons in Los Angeles, inexperienced baseball fans had difficulty following the action in the very large
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Conceived as a hallmark of civic pride, the Coliseum was commissioned in 1921 as a me ...
, and it soon became common for them to bring
transistor radio A transistor radio is a small portable radio receiver that uses transistor-based circuitry. Following the invention of the transistor in 1947—which revolutionized the field of consumer electronics by introducing small but powerful, convenient ...
s to the games to hear Scully and Jerry Doggett describe the action, a practice that continued even after the team moved to the much smaller
Dodger Stadium Dodger Stadium is a baseball stadium in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is the home stadium of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers. Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a cost of ...
for the 1962 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. In 1964, the
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...
offered Scully the job to replace the recently fired
Mel Allen Mel Allen (born Melvin Allen Israel; February 14, 1913 – June 16, 1996) was an American sportscaster, best known for his long tenure as the primary play-by-play announcer for the New York Yankees. During the peak of his career in the 1940 ...
as their lead play-by-play announcer. Scully declined the offer and chose to remain with the Dodgers. By 1976, his popularity in Los Angeles had become such that Dodger fans voted him the "most memorable personality" in the history of the franchise. Before 1966, local announcers exclusively called the World Series. Typically, the Gillette Company, the
Commissioner of Baseball The Commissioner of Baseball is the chief executive officer of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the associated Minor League Baseball (MiLB) – a constellation of leagues and clubs known as "organized baseball". Under the direction of the Commiss ...
and
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
television would choose the announcers, who would represent each of the teams that were in the World Series for the respective year. For the
1966 World Series The 1966 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1966 season. The 63rd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Baltimore Orioles and National League ...
,
Curt Gowdy Curtis Edward Gowdy (July 31, 1919 – February 20, 2006) was an American sportscaster. He called Boston Red Sox games on radio and TV for 15 years, and then covered many nationally televised sporting events, primarily for NBC Sports and ABC S ...
called half of each game before ceding the microphone to Vin Scully in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
, and Chuck Thompson in
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...
. Scully was not satisfied with the arrangement 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. Unlike the modern style in which multiple sportscasters have an on-air conversation (usually with one functioning as play-by-play announcer and another as
color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main ( play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and ...
), Scully and his broadcast partners Jerry Doggett (1956–87) and Ross 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 the 1987 season, he was replaced by Hall-of-Fame Dodgers pitcher
Don Drysdale Donald Scott Drysdale (July 23, 1936 – July 3, 1993) was an American professional baseball player and television sports commentator. A right-handed pitcher for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers for his entire career in Major League Baseball, D ...
, who previously broadcast games for the
California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ...
. Drysdale died in his hotel room following a heart attack before a game against the
Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in ...
in 1993, 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. 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 outfielder
Rick Monday Robert James "Rick" Monday Jr. (born November 20, 1945) is an American former professional baseball player who now serves as a broadcaster. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a center fielder from 1966 to 1984, most notably as a member ...
succeeded Drysdale in the Dodgers' broadcast crew. On August 28, 2015, the Dodgers announced—via a series of cue cards presented by comedian
Jimmy Kimmel James Christian Kimmel (born November 13, 1967) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and producer. He is the host and executive producer of ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', a late-night talk show that premiered on ABC on January 26, 2003, ...
on the Dodger Stadium video board—that Scully would be back for the 2016 season, his 67th with the Dodgers. 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. Scully's final regular season game broadcast from Dodger Stadium occurred on September 25, 2016 as the Dodgers defeated the
Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fi ...
4-3 on a walk-off home run by Charlie Culberson to clinch the National League West Division title. His final game was broadcast from San Francisco's
Oracle Park Oracle Park is a Major League Baseball stadium in the SoMa neighborhood of San Francisco, California. Since 2000, it has been the home of the San Francisco Giants. Previously named Pacific Bell Park, SBC Park, and AT&T Park, the stadium's curren ...
(formerly AT&T Park) on October 2, 2016.


CBS Sports (1975–1982)

From 1975 to 1982, Scully announced
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...
telecasts for
CBS Sports CBS Sports is the sports division of the American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on W ...
, teaming with several different
color analyst A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and the ...
s including Sonny Jurgensen,
Paul Hornung Paul Vernon Hornung (December 23, 1935 – November 13, 2020), nicknamed "the Golden Boy", was an American professional football player who was a Hall of Fame running back for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL) from 195 ...
, Alex Hawkins, George Allen,
Jim Brown James Nathaniel Brown (born February 17, 1936) is a former American football player, sports analyst and actor. He played as a fullback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) from 1957 through 1965. Considered to be one ...
,
John Madden John Earl Madden (April 10, 1936 – December 28, 2021) was an American football coach and sports commentator in the National Football League (NFL). He served as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders from 1969 to 1978, who he led to eight pl ...
, and Hank Stram. Scully called
Dwight Clark Dwight Edward Clark (January 8, 1957 – June 4, 2018) was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver for nine seasons with the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1979 He was a member of San ...
's touchdown
catch Catch may refer to: In sports * Catch (game), children's game * Catch (baseball), a maneuver in baseball * Catch (cricket), a mode of dismissal in cricket * Catch or reception (gridiron football) * Catch, part of a rowing stroke In music * Catc ...
in the
NFC Championship Game The NFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the National Football Conference (NFC) and one of the two semi-final playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world ...
on January 10, 1982, that put the
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's Nationa ...
into
Super Bowl XVI Super Bowl XVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Cincinnati Bengals to decide the National Football League (NFL) champ ...
. It was the final NFL game he announced. "This was a hell of a game to quit doing football," he commented. Scully also contributed to the network's
tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...
and PGA Tour golf coverage in the late 1970s and early 1980s, usually working the golf events with
Pat Summerall George Allen "Pat" Summerall (May 10, 1930 – April 16, 2013) was an American football player and television sportscaster who worked for CBS, Fox, and ESPN. In addition to football, he announced major golf and tennis events. Summerall ann ...
,
Ken Venturi Kenneth Paul Venturi (May 15, 1931May 17, 2013) was an American professional golfer and golf broadcaster. In a career shortened by injuries, he won 14 events on the PGA Tour including a major, the U.S. Open in 1964. Shortly before his death in 20 ...
, and Ben Wright. From
1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
to
1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C ...
, he was part of the team that covered the
Masters Tournament The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply The Masters, or the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, the Masters is the first ma ...
for CBS. Scully's network commitments led to his working a reduced schedule with the Dodgers, who hired Ross Porter to cover for games that Scully couldn't call. In
1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...
, Scully began his first of two stints calling baseball for
CBS Radio CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broad ...
, broadcasting the
All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...
through
1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C ...
(usually paired with
Brent Musburger Brent Woody Musburger (born May 26, 1939) is an American sportscaster, currently the lead broadcaster and managing editor at Vegas Stats and Information Network (VSiN). With CBS Sports from 1973 until 1990, he was one of the original members ...
) and the
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...
from 1979 to 1982 (alongside
Sparky Anderson George Lee "Sparky" Anderson (February 22, 1934 – November 4, 2010) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player, coach, and manager. He managed the National League's Cincinnati Reds to the 1975 and 1976 championships, then added a third ...
).


Departure from CBS

Scully decided to leave CBS in favor of a job calling baseball games for NBC (beginning in 1983) following a dispute over assignment prominence (according to CBS Sports producer Terry O'Neil, in the book ''The Game Behind the Game''). CBS decided going into the 1981 NFL season that
John Madden John Earl Madden (April 10, 1936 – December 28, 2021) was an American football coach and sports commentator in the National Football League (NFL). He served as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders from 1969 to 1978, who he led to eight pl ...
, whom CBS had hired in 1979 and who had called games alongside Frank Glieber and
Gary Bender Gary Nedrow Bender (born September 1, 1940) is a retired American sportscaster and 2008 inductee into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame. He officially retired, April 13, 2011, from Fox Sports Arizona after 18 years calling the NBA's Phoenix Sun ...
his first two years, was going to be the star
color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main ( play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and ...
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 announcer
Pat Summerall George Allen "Pat" Summerall (May 10, 1930 – April 16, 2013) was an American football player and television sportscaster who worked for CBS, Fox, and ESPN. In addition to football, he announced major golf and tennis events. Summerall ann ...
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 former
Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The t ...
head coach Hank Stram, who had been promoted from CBS' number three broadcast team alongside
Curt Gowdy Curtis Edward Gowdy (July 31, 1919 – February 20, 2006) was an American sportscaster. He called Boston Red Sox games on radio and TV for 15 years, and then covered many nationally televised sporting events, primarily for NBC Sports and ABC S ...
. To resolve the situation, both Scully and Summerall were paired with Madden in four-week stretches, which coincided with each of their respective absences due to other engagements. While Summerall was away calling the US 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 the
National League Championship Series The National League Championship Series (NLCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the winners of the two Nation ...
and
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...
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. 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 call
Super Bowl XVI Super Bowl XVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Cincinnati Bengals to decide the National Football League (NFL) champ ...
for CBS on January 24, 1982, at the
Pontiac Silverdome The Pontiac Silverdome (also known simply as the Silverdome) was a stadium in Pontiac, Michigan. It opened in 1975 and sat on 199 acres (51 ha) of land. When the stadium opened, it featured a fiberglass fabric roof held up by air pressure, ...
. An angry Scully, who felt that his intelligence had been insulted by the move, was assigned as a consolation prize that year's
NFC Championship Game The NFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the National Football Conference (NFC) and one of the two semi-final playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world ...
, which he called alongside Stram. Summerall took Stram's place alongside
Jack Buck John Francis "Jack" Buck (August 21, 1924 – June 18, 2002) was an American sportscaster, best known for his work announcing Major League Baseball games of the St. Louis Cardinals. His play-by-play work earned him recognition from numerous hal ...
to call the game over
CBS Radio CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broad ...
.


NBC Sports (1983–1989)

Outside of
Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...
, Vin Scully is remembered as
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
television's lead baseball broadcaster from 1983 to 1989. Besides calling the Saturday ''Game of the Week'' for NBC, Scully called three World Series (1984, 1986, and 1988), four
National League Championship Series The National League Championship Series (NLCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the winners of the two Nation ...
(
1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...
,
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
,
1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...
, and
1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
), and four All-Star Games (
1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...
,
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
,
1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...
, and
1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
). Scully also reworked his Dodgers schedule during this period, broadcasting home games on the radio, and road games for the Dodgers television network, 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 when
Bill Buckner William Joseph Buckner (December 14, 1949 – May 27, 2019) was an American first baseman and left fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for five teams from through , most notably the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red ...
made a tenth-inning
error An error (from the Latin ''error'', meaning "wandering") is an action which is inaccurate or incorrect. In some usages, an error is synonymous with a mistake. The etymology derives from the Latin term 'errare', meaning 'to stray'. In statistics ...
in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series against the
New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major lea ...
. Scully also called Kirk Gibson's famous
home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
during Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. Teaming with
Joe Garagiola Joseph Henry Garagiola Sr. (February 12, 1926 – March 23, 2016) was an American professional baseball catcher, later an announcer and television host, popular for his colorful personality. Garagiola played nine seasons in Major League Basebal ...
(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 with Tom 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 first grand slam in
All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...
history (1983); the 1984 Detroit Tigers winning the
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...
(along the way, he called Tigers pitcher
Jack Morris John Scott Morris (born May 16, 1955) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1977 and 1994, mainly for the Detroit Tigers. Morris won 254 games throughout his career. Armed ...
'
no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...
against the
Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...
on April 7); Ozzie Smith's game-winning home run in Game 5 of the 1985 National League Championship Series; the New York Mets' miracle rally in Game 6 of the
1986 World Series The 1986 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1986 season. The 83rd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the National League (NL) champion New York Mets and the Ameri ...
; the 1987 All-Star Game in
Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay ...
, which was deadlocked at 0–0 before
Tim Raines Timothy Raines Sr. (born September 16, 1959), nicknamed "Rock",Raines received this nickname at an Expo rookie camp when he was seventeen, based on his physique. is an American professional baseball coach and former player. He played as a left ...
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's
Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago ...
(August 9,
1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...
); Kirk Gibson's game-winning
home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series; and chatting with former President of the United States
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
(who said to Scully, "I've been out of work for six months and maybe there's a future here.") in the booth during the 1989 All-Star Game in
Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most ...
as
Bo Jackson Vincent Edward "Bo" Jackson (born November 30, 1962) is an American former professional baseball and American football player. He is the only professional athlete in history to be named an All-Star in both baseball and football. Jackson's el ...
hit a lead-off home run. On Saturday, June 3, 1989, Scully was doing the play-by-play for the NBC ''Game of the Week'' in St. Louis, where the Cardinals beat the
Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...
in 10 innings. Meanwhile, the
Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Broo ...
were playing a series in
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...
, 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.
Laryngitis Laryngitis is inflammation of the larynx (voice box). Symptoms often include a hoarse voice and may include fever, cough, pain in the front of the neck, and dysphagia, trouble swallowing. Typically, these last under two weeks. Laryngitis is c ...
prevented Scully from calling Game 2 of the 1989 National League Championship Series between the
San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yo ...
and
Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...
.
Bob Costas Robert Quinlan Costas (born March 22, 1952) is an American sportscaster who is known for his long tenure with NBC Sports, from 1980 through 2019. He has received 28 Emmy awards for his work and was the prime-time host of 12 Olympic Games from 19 ...
, who was working the
American League Championship Series The American League Championship Series (ALCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the two winners of the America ...
between
Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay ...
and
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
with
Tony Kubek Anthony Christopher Kubek (born October 12, 1935) is an American former professional baseball player and television broadcaster. During his nine-year playing career with the New York Yankees, Kubek played in six World Series in the late 1950s ...
for NBC, was flown from Toronto to Chicago to fill in that evening (an off day for the ALCS). After the 1989 season, NBC (along with ABC, with whom NBC had shared baseball coverage since 1976), lost the
television rights Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began wi ...
to cover Major League Baseball to CBS. For the first time since 1946, NBC would 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 a
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
word, where people will not get Major League Baseball and I think that's a tragedy." Scully also served as an announcer for NBC's
PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...
golf coverage during his time at the network, usually teaming with
Lee Trevino Lee Buck Trevino (born December 1, 1939) is an American retired professional golfer who is regarded as one of the greatest players in golf history. He was inducted to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1981. Trevino won six major championships and ...
from 1983 to 1990.


After NBC (1990–2016)

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 the
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...
, since CBS Radio gave him the position that
Jack Buck John Francis "Jack" Buck (August 21, 1924 – June 18, 2002) was an American sportscaster, best known for his work announcing Major League Baseball games of the St. Louis Cardinals. His play-by-play work earned him recognition from numerous hal ...
had vacated in order to become the primary announcer of CBS's television coverage of Major League Baseball. Scully's first assignment was the
1990 World Series The 1990 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1990 season. The 87th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the defending champions and heavily favored American League (AL) ...
and he remained in that role until 1997, working with
Johnny Bench John Lee Bench (born December 7, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player. He played his entire Major League Baseball career, which lasted from through , with the Cincinnati Reds, primarily as a catcher. Bench was the leader of t ...
for the first four years and Jeff Torborg for the final three. After
ESPN Radio ESPN Radio, which is alternately platform-agnostically branded as ESPN Audio, is an American sports radio network and extension of the ESPN television network. It was launched on January 1, 1992, under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN ...
acquired the World Series radio rights from CBS in 1998, Scully was offered a continued play-by-play role but declined. The final World Series game that Scully called was Game 7 of the
1997 World Series The 1997 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1997 season. The 93rd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Cleveland Indians and the National L ...
between the
Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The fran ...
and
Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central division. Since , they have ...
. From 1991 to 1996, Scully broadcast the annual golf Skins Game for ABC, having previously called the event for
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
from 1983 to 1989. He also called the Senior Skins Game for ABC from 1992 to 2000, as well as various golf events for TBS during this period. In 1999, Scully was the master of ceremonies for MasterCard's ''
Major League Baseball All-Century Team In 1999, the Major League Baseball All-Century Team was chosen by popular vote of fans. To select the team, a panel of experts first compiled a list of the 100 greatest Major League Baseball (MLB) players from the 20th century. Over two million f ...
'' before the start of Game 2 of the
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...
. For health reasons, Scully no longer called most non-playoff games played east of Denver beginning around
2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...
. He missed most of the Dodgers' opening homestand of the 2012 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 of
Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line ...
's breaking of the color barrier in baseball. It was only the second time that Scully had missed a
Dodger Stadium Dodger Stadium is a baseball stadium in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is the home stadium of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers. Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a cost of ...
home opener in his career with the team; the first time was when he was busy broadcasting the
Masters golf tournament The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply The Masters, or the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, the Masters is the first ma ...
for CBS in
1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...
. As of 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 both
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the ...
radio station
KLAC KLAC (570 AM) is a commercial sports radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, serving Greater Los Angeles and much of surrounding Southern California. Owned by a joint venture between iHeartMedia, Inc. and the Los Angeles Dodgers b ...
and television outlet
SportsNet LA Spectrum SportsNet LA and Spectrum Deportes LA (otherwise known as simply SportsNet LA and Deportes LA and originally known as Time Warner Cable SportsNet LA) is an American regional sports network jointly owned by the Los Angeles Dodgers Major ...
. Scully was
simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simul ...
for the first three innings of each of his appearances, then announced the remaining innings only for the TV audience. If Scully was calling the game,
Charley Steiner Charley Steiner (born ) is an American sportscaster and broadcast journalist. He is currently the radio play-by-play announcer for the Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers, paired with Rick Monday. Early career Steiner grew up a Bro ...
took over play-by-play on radio beginning with the fourth inning, with
Rick Monday Robert James "Rick" Monday Jr. (born November 20, 1945) is an American former professional baseball player who now serves as a broadcaster. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a center fielder from 1966 to 1984, most notably as a member ...
as
color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main ( play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and ...
. If Scully was not calling the game, either
Joe Davis Joseph Davis (15 April 190110 July 1978) was an English professional snooker and English billiards player. He was the dominant figure in snooker from the 1920s to the 1950s, and has been credited with inventing aspects of the way the game is ...
or Steiner would call the entire game on television with
Orel Hershiser Orel Leonard Hershiser IV (born September 16, 1958) is an American former baseball pitcher who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1983 to 2000. He later became a pitching coach for the Texas Rangers from 2002 to 2005 and a bro ...
and Nomar Garciaparra on color commentary. while Monday, now doing play-play, joined Kevin Kennedy on radio.


Retirement

On January 31, 2016, Scully announced that he planned to retire from broadcasting after the conclusion of the 2016 season; his final game was the team's October 2 finale at
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...
. Scully left open the possibility of calling postseason games (but not the
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...
) 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. Scully was honored by the Dodgers during their September 23 home game against the Rockies, which featured a pre-game ceremony that paid tribute to his career. The ceremony included speeches by Commissioner of Baseball
Rob Manfred Robert Dean Manfred Jr. (born September 28, 1958) is an American lawyer and business executive who is serving as the tenth commissioner of Major League Baseball. He previously served as MLB's chief operating officer. Manfred succeeded Bud Selig a ...
,
Sandy Koufax Sanford Koufax (; born Sanford Braun; December 30, 1935) is an American former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played his entire career for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers from 1955 to 1966. He has been hailed as one of t ...
, Clayton Kershaw, Mayor Eric Garcetti, the team's Spanish play-by-play man Jaime Jarrín (who took over Scully's distinction as the longest-tenured broadcaster in 2017), Kevin Costner, and Scully himself. The team also unveiled that Kirk Gibson's 1988 World Series home run had been named the most memorable Vin Scully call in a fan vote. His final home game was on September 25, 2016, against the visiting 2016 Colorado Rockies season, Colorado Rockies. The Dodgers ended up winning on a 10th inning walk-off home run by Charlie Culberson and in doing so clinched the NL West Division title. The final broadcast of his career was the Dodgers' October 2 game at AT&T Park against the San Francisco Giants. Scully's commentary during his final game was simulcast in its entirety on radio, instead of only the first three innings. After the game, he offered a prayer and a final message: 2017 in baseball, The following year, the Dodgers advanced to the 2017 World Series, World Series for the first time in 29 years. Despite many Dodgers fans petitioning Scully to come out of retirement, including Fox Sports announcer Joe Buck (who was quoted as saying, "I swear on my Jack Buck, late 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." Scully did, however, take part in the first pitch ceremony prior to Game 2 with Steve Yeager and Fernando Valenzuela, teammates on the Dodgers team that won the 1981 World Series. In 2020, he was auctioning sports memorabilia in part to donate to neuromuscular research. After the Dodgers 2020 World Series, World Series win in 2020, it was announced that Scully would narrate the team's year-end championship documentary.


Other appearances

In 1970, ABC Sports producer Roone Arledge tried to lure Scully to his network to call play-by-play for the then-new ''Monday Night Football'' games, but Scully's commitment to the Dodgers forced him to reject the offer. Besides his sportscasting work, Scully was the uncredited narrator for the short-lived NBC sitcom ''Occasional Wife''. Scully also co-hosted the Tournament of Roses Parade with Elizabeth Montgomery for ABC in 1967, served as the host for the NBC game show ''It Takes Two (game show), It Takes Two'' in 1969–70, and in 1973 hosted ''The Vin Scully Show'', a weekday afternoon talk-variety show on CBS. In 1977, he hosted the prime-time ''Challenge of the Sexes'' for CBS. Scully was the announcer in the popular Sony PlayStation–exclusive ''MLB'' video game series by San Diego Studio, 989 Sports for a number of years. Scully retired from announcing for video games after ''MLB 2005''. Matt Vasgersian, Eric Karros, and Steve Lyons (baseball), Steve Lyons (and formerly Dave Campbell and Rex Hudler) took over as the lead announcers in the video game series, which was retitled ''MLB: The Show''. Scully appears as himself in the 1999 film ''For Love of the Game (film), For Love of the Game'', has a brief cameo (along with then-Dodgers partner Jerry Doggett) in the 1961 film ''Bachelor in Paradise (film), Bachelor in Paradise'', appears as a CBS news reporter in the 1960 film ''Wake Me When It's Over'', provides the opening narration in the 1966 film ''Fireball 500'', and can be heard calling baseball games in the films ''Experiment in Terror'' (1962), ''Zebra in the Kitchen'' (1965), ''The Party (1968 film), The Party'' (1968), and ''The Bucket List'' (2007), as well as in episodes of TV series including ''General Electric Theater'', ''Alcoa Premiere'', ''Mister Ed'', ''The Joey Bishop Show (sitcom), The Joey Bishop Show'', ''The Fugitive (1963 TV series), The Fugitive'', ''Highway to Heaven'', and ''Brooklyn Bridge (TV series), Brooklyn Bridge''. The surname of the Dana Scully character on the television show ''The X-Files'' is an homage to Vin Scully, as the show's creator Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter is a Dodgers fan; Scully himself can be heard calling a game in the Season 6 episode "The Unnatural (The X-Files), The Unnatural".


Impersonators

Harry Shearer has impersonated Scully in a sketch comedy, sketch for ''Saturday Night Live'', and has used the voice for ''The Simpsons'' when the storyline includes the fictional team the Springfield Isotopes. San Francisco Giants broadcaster Jon Miller is known for his impersonation of Scully. Voice actor Chris Cox (voice actor), Chris Cox has appeared on the comedy podcast series ''Sklarbro Country'' as the character "Racist Vin Scully".


Awards and honors

Scully received the Ford C. Frick Award, Ford Frick Award from the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982, and was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award for sportscasting and induction into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 1995. The National 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. He was the 1992 Hall of Fame inductee of the American Sportscasters Association, which also named him Sportscaster of the Century (2000) and top sportscaster of all-time on its Top 50 list (2009). The California Sports Hall of Fame inducted Scully in 2008. Scully was inducted into the NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2009. On May 11, 2009, he was awarded the Ambassador Award of Excellence by the LA Sports & Entertainment Commission. On an episode of MLB Network's series ''Prime 9'', about the nine greatest baseball broadcasters of all-time, Scully was named No. 1. Scully has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6675 Hollywood Blvd. Since 2001 Los Angeles Dodgers season, 2001, the press box at
Dodger Stadium Dodger Stadium is a baseball stadium in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is the home stadium of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers. Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a cost of ...
has been named for Scully, and a street within the team's former Dodgertown spring training facility in Vero Beach, Florida was named "Vin Scully Way". 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. Scully served as the Grand Marshals of the Tournament of Roses Parade, Grand Marshal for the 2014 Tournament of Roses Parade. Also, he participated aboard the Los Angeles Dodgers' 50th anniversary float in the 2008 Tournament of Roses Parade. On September 5, 2014, Bud Selig presented him with the Commissioner's Historic Achievement Award. He was the 14th recipient and (after Rachel Robinson) second non-player to receive the award, which was created to recognize accomplishments and contributions of historical significance to the game of baseball. Several honors were bestowed in 2016, Scully's final year. On January 29, the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to rename Elysian Park Avenue, which changed the address of
Dodger Stadium Dodger Stadium is a baseball stadium in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is the home stadium of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers. Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a cost of ...
to 1000 Vin Scully Ave. July 8 was dubbed "Vin Scully Day" by the acting governor of California, Kevin de León. During the pre-game ceremony on September 23, 2016, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti presented Vin Scully with the key to the city. On November 22, Scully received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor given by the President of the United States. In 2017, Scully's commentary for the final 1957 Brooklyn Dodgers season, Brooklyn Dodgers/1957 New York Giants (MLB) season, New York Giants game in 1957 was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or artistically significant". Also in 2017, Scully won the Icon Award as part of 2017 ESPY Awards, that year's ESPY Awards ceremony. At Game 2 of the 2017 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 introduced Steve Yeager to serve as a ceremonial catcher. However, Scully then claimed that he could not actually pitch because he had hurt his rotator cuff, resulting in him introducing the actual ceremonial pitcher, Fernando Valenzuela. Scully also uttered his famous introduction, "It's time for Dodger baseball!"


Personal life

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. 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 near Fort Tejon, California, in the immediate aftermath of the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Although Michael's death still haunted him, Scully, a devout Roman Catholic Church, Roman 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.Hunt for a Red October
(National Catholic Register)
He encouraged Marian devotions, devotion 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." 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. An unauthorized biography of Scully, ''Pull Up a Chair: The Vin Scully Story'', written by Curt Smith (author), Curt Smith, was published in 2009. In November 2017, Scully stated that he would "never watch another NFL game again," due to some of the league's players U.S. national anthem protests (2016-present), kneeling during the playing of the national anthem prior to games. Scully had four children, two stepchildren, 21 grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. He resided in Thousand Oaks, California, and attended St. Jude the Apostle Church in Westlake Village, California. Scully was a second cousin of the former Lord Mayor of Dublin, Mary Freehill. Vin and his second wife Sandra were married for 48 years until Sandra's death from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis on January 3, 2021. On August 2, 2022, Scully died at his home in Hidden Hills, California, at the age of 94. His funeral was held at St. Jude the Apostle Roman Catholic Church, in Westlake Village, California on August 8.Dodgers News: Vin Scully Funeral Services Held in Westlake Village
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References


Further reading

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External links


Vin Scully Dodgers Bio

Vin Scully
Ford C. Frick Award biography at the National Baseball Hall of Fame
Salon.com tribute

DailyBulletin.com – Q&A with Vin Scully

Fang's Bites: Videos of the Week – Best Baseball Announcers: Vin Scully

Vin Scully Quotes
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Scully, Vin 1927 births 2022 deaths American game show hosts American people of Irish descent American radio sports announcers American television sports announcers Brooklyn Dodgers announcers Catholics from California Catholics from New York (state) College baseball announcers in the United States College basketball announcers in the United States College football announcers Fordham Preparatory School alumni Ford C. Frick Award recipients Fordham Rams baseball players Fordham Rams football announcers Fordham University alumni Golf writers and broadcasters Los Angeles Dodgers announcers Major League Baseball broadcasters Military personnel from New York City National Football League announcers People from the Bronx People from Hidden Hills, California People from Ventura County, California People from Washington Heights, Manhattan People from Westlake Village, California Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Tennis commentators United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy sailors WFUV people