Legendary broadcaster Vin Scully, the voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers for more than six decades, has passed away at the age of 94, the Dodgers announced Tuesday evening.
“We have lost an icon,” said Stan Kasten, the President and CEO of the Dodgers in a statement. “The Dodgers 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,” Kasten said. “He loved people. He loved life. He loved baseball and the Dodgers. And he loved his family. His voice will always be heard and etched in all of our minds forever.”
The admired radio and TV broadcaster, who was born Vincent Edward Scully in New York on November 29, 1927, died at his home in Hidden Hills, Los Angeles County, according to the franchise. He is survived by his five children, 21 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Among his many accomplishments, Scully was awarded The Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is the highest civilian award, The Ford C. Frick Award in 1982 from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and a star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Scully, a graduate of Fordham University in the Bronx, began his career with the Dodgers in their original home in Brooklyn, New York in 1950, when he was recruited by Hall of Fame broadcaster Red Barber, his hero, to be a part of a trio on the broadcast team.
By the age of 25, he became the youngest person to broadcast a World Series game in 1953 and two years later, Barber went to join the New York Yankees’ broadcast crew, and Scully became the prominent voice for the Dodgers.
Barber was a crucial influence on the young broadcaster as he stated to the Baseball Hall of Fame: “Red was my teacher … and my father. I don’t know — I might have been the son he never had. It wasn’t so much that he taught me how to broadcast. It was an attitude. Get to the park early. Do your homework. Be prepared. Be accurate.”
From the broadcast booth chair, Scully became the story teller of one baseball’s greatest franchises. He witnessed when the “Boys of Summer” won their first World Series in 1955 and called the final inning of Don Larsen’s perfect game in the 1956 World Series. It was one of more than 20 no-hitters that Scully covered in his lengthy career, the team noted.
When the Dodgers unexpectedly left Brooklyn and moved across the country to Los Angeles in 1957, Scully also departed his hometown to expand a career that lasted 67 years, the longest tenure of any broadcaster with a single organization, the team said.
Not only did he cover the Dodgers, he also was heard around the world on national TV as an announcer for golf and the NFL, as well as baseball.
His most well-known calls included when the Braves’ Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run in Atlanta, April 8, 1974, breaking Babe Ruth’s record and also the injured Kirk Gibson’s bottom-of-the-9th walk-off home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series.
Many friends and fans paid their respects to Scully.
Dodgers skipper, Dave Roberts, speaking after the team beat the Giants in San Francisco Tuesday night said Scully inspired him to be better.
“There’s not a better storyteller. I think everyone considers him family. He was in our living rooms for so many generations. Dodger fans consider him part of their family. He lived a fantastic life, a legacy that will live on forever.”
Fellow Southern California sports legend, Earvin “Magic” Johnson said that “Dodgers Nation” had lost a legend. “I’ll always remember his smooth broadcasting style. He had a voice & a way of storytelling that made you think he was only talking to you.”
Los Angeles Lakers’ star LeBron James described Scully as “Another great one who made sports so damn special.”
Tennis trailblazer Billy Jean King said Scully would be missed: “He was a true sports storyteller,” she said on social media.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said his passing marked the end of a chapter in the city’s history. “He united us, inspired us, and showed us all what it means to serve. Our City Hall will be lit up for you tomorrow, Vin, our dear friend, the Voice of LA. Thank you from a grateful and loving city.”
Scully called his final home game for the Dodgers on September 25, 2016.
In a 2020 interview with CNN, Scully described how it felt: “When I was leaving Dodger Stadium, my last day at the stadium, I hung a big sign out of the door of the window of the booth and it said, ‘I’ll miss you.’ That’s how I felt about the fans.”
