Vin Scully, Hall Of Fame Dodgers Announcer Of 67 Years, Dead At 94

Vin Scully, who called Los Angeles Dodgers games for nearly seven decades and was largely considered the best baseball announcer of all time, has died. He was 94. 

The Los Angeles Dodgers announced his death in a statement late Tuesday. A cause of death was not revealed. 

For 67 years, Scully’s soothing voice and incredible storytelling prowess captured the hearts of millions of baseball fans. His career had him calling numerous historic moments in the game, including Hank Aaron’s 715th home run, Don Larsen’s World Series perfect game, and Kirk Gibson’s 1988 World Series home run.

Scully, widely considered the greatest baseball announcer of all-time, was born in New York City on November 29, 1927. He began his broadcasting career as a student broadcaster at Fordham University. He began calling college football games for the CBS Radio Network, and was soon hired to be the third member of the Dodgers broadcast team. 

In 1953, Scully became the youngest person to broadcast a World Series game, a record that stands to this day. 

In 1958, the Dodgers moved West to Los Angeles, and Scully made the journey with them. 

From 1975-1982, Scully called NFL games for CBS, also covering tennis and golf for the network. In 1983, Scully moved to NBC where he would go on to call three World Series from 1983-1989. 

A professional broadcaster to his core, Scully was asked what makes a quality sports broadcast in 2017. 

“Well, number one is accuracy,” Scully said. “Let’s face it, if you aren’t calling it accurately, it’s no good. And part of that is the faith that the listener has to have in your degree of accuracy. Also, you don’t want to sound like a guy that only talks about the great plays his team makes. You can’t demean the other team. And part of accuracy is preparation. I remember reading a line from Laurence Olivier, the great actor, once about what made a great actor and he said it was “the humility to prepare and the confidence to bring it off.” I like that. No matter what game I was announcing, or what sport, I would try so hard to prepare for whatever I was going to do. And I found that the more I prepared, the more confident I was.”

Prior to the 2016 season, Scully announced that the season would be his last. His final game at Dodger Stadium was September 35, 2016, when the Dodgers walked off the Colorado Rockies to clinch the National League West Division title. 

The final call of his illustrious career came against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. 

“I have said enough for a lifetime,” Scully said. “And for the last time, I wish you a very pleasant good afternoon.”

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Scully ended his career as the longest-tenured announcer for one team in professional sports history. 

Scully was inducted into the Dodger Stadium Ring of honor in 2017, the first non-player to be inducted. He was the winner of the Ford Frick Award — presented annually to a broadcaster for major contributions to baseball — and is a member of the National Radio Hall of Fame, the American Sportscasters Association Hall of Fame, and the NAB Hall of Fame. 

He is survived by his four children, two stepchildren, and 16 grandchildren. 

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