By KYLE ADAMS
Staff Writer
It was Opening Day for the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1950. There were some very familiar faces in the lineup at Ebbets Field that day. The roster included four players that would become members of the Hall of Fame; Pee Wee Reese, Roy Campanella and Duke Snyder, along with Jackie Robinson, whose number is now retired across Major League Baseball.
However, there were actually five future Hall of Famers in the ballpark that day. At the age of 22 years old, Vin Scully made his ‘Major League debut,’ as a broadcaster, alongside Red Barber. Today, Vin Scully is 89 years old and is saying goodbye to the game and the team that he has served for the past 67 years.
For nearly seven decades, Scully has been the broadcaster for the Dodgers. And with time comes countless historic moments, which Scully’s voice is enshrined in, forever. Scully has been at the microphone for an unprecedented 19 no-hitters and three perfect games. Don Larson’s World Series perfect game, in 1956, and Sandy Koufax, who threw his in 1965 along with three additional no hitters in his career, all were called by Scully. Most recently, Scully called Clayton Kershaw’s no-hitter in June of 2014.
No-hitters and perfect games are only a small beginning to the legacy Vin Scully is leaving behind. Along with being the everyday play by play announcer for the Dodgers, Scully also got the call to broadcast on the national stage by NBC and CBS.
Scully has been a part of 25 different World Series’ and 12 All Star Games. Some of Scully’s more memorable moments come from those World Series games, like the Bill Buckner play in 1986, when the Met’s won their second World Series and the ‘Curse of the Bambino’ continued for the Red Sox.
Kirk Gibson’s walk off home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series has Scully’s voice attached to an incredible quote, “In a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened.” Perhaps his most memorable call is when Hank Aaron passed Babe Ruth in career home runs or was it Joe Carter’s walk off home run in Game 6 of the 1993 World Series? However Scully will be remembered most not for any single call, but for his longevity and devotion to the game of baseball and his ability to connect, one-on-one, with fans across the country.
In 1957, the Brooklyn Dodgers made an announcement that would change the course of baseball history. The Brooklyn Dodgers would become the Los Angeles Dodgers. Along with moving all of their players to ‘the Big Orange,’ they also brought their voice along for the ride.
Los Angeles wasn’t the only big trip Vin Scully made in his broadcasting career. In 1982, Scully made a trip back to New York; to Cooperstown. He had received the Ford Frick Award from the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the highest award possible for a broadcaster.
In his acceptance speech, he famously asked “Why me?” to the crowd. Modesty has always been Scully’s most admirable trait. Scully has also made the trip to several other Hall of Fames. Those include the California Sportscaster Hall of Fame (1991), American Sportscasters Hall of Fame (1992), National Radio Hall of Fame (1995), California Sports Hall of Fame (2008) and the NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame (2009).
There is one more award that Scully has received that is especially special to him. In September of 2014, Bud Selig presented Scully with the Commissioner’s Historic Achievement Award. This award is given to a person whose accomplishments and career have had a historical impact on the game of baseball. Scully was only the second non-player ever to receive the award. He shares that honor with Rachel Robinson.
On Sunday Sept. 25, 2016 Vin Scully called his final game at Dodgers Stadium. Both the Dodgers and Rockies played so well, that Scully got to call some extra inning baseball on his last day. In the tenth inning, Charlie Culberson hit a walk-off home run, his first homer of the season. The win clinched the NL West Division title for the Dodgers and capped off a very emotional day across baseball.
Scully has always been a very modest personality, among a game and a career filled with stars. He doesn’t want extra attention drawn to him, because the game is what should be the attraction, not the broadcaster.
He has often said that he is uncomfortable with all the attention that he gets. Scully has said that he is going to miss the people he sees every day at the ballpark most of all during retirement. During the celebration, after the walk-off, the Dodgers players saluted their outgoing broadcaster and Scully also had a message for the team and the fans.
“I’m terribly embarrassed. I was hoping the team would win the game 10 – 0, there’d be no tension and it would be a nice, easy day, because I have a very, very small, modest contribution on my last day.” Said Scully, “I have always felt that you folks in the stands have been far, far important to me. You have given me enthusiasm; you have given me young at heart. Believe me when I tell you, I’ve needed you far more than you’ve needed me.”
Scully would proceed to sing Wind Beneath My Wings with the Dodger Stadium crowd and then headed down to the Dodger’s clubhouse where he would celebrate the division title with the team.
