LOS ANGELES, CA – JULY 30: Los Angeles Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully in the booth before the game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium on July 30, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
Vin Scully passed away at the age of 94. For 67 years he was the radio and TV voice of the Brooklyn and LA Dodgers. 67 years! Think about that number for a minute. Most people begin a career in their twenties and retire at age 67.
His career spanned from 1950-2016 when he finally retired at the age of 89. In that same span the United States of America had 12 presidents beginning with Harry Truman.
However, Scully wasn't just a guy who hung around a long time. He might have been the best to ever call a game on the air. Growing up in Michigan and Indiana I always had an affinity for Hall of Famer Ernie Harwell, who called Tiger Baseball on the Great Voice of the Great Lakes, WJR Detroit for decades. So, needless to say, I already knew what it was like to have a passionate attachment to one of the greats in broadcasting.
But during my childhood in the midwest, the only time I heard Scully was when he did the national game of the week for NBC. And he was great.
However, later in life my broadcast career took me to Los Angeles. I was excited for the chance to hear two titans of broadcasting every night on the local airwaves: Chick Hearn with the Lakers and Vin Scully with the Dodgers!
What a treat that was! Admittedly, I arrived too late in Hearn's career to catch him in his prime. But despite his aging years, Scully was still the real deal until the very end. His voiced filled the cool night time Los Angeles air with absolute poetry. He also did most innings by himself. Scully was the play-by-play guy and his own color analyst. He could seemlessly weave in and out of the live action with a personal story about a player, manager, himself, a fan, or baseball in general.
His voice was the background soundtrack to millions of people's lives. Today that voice is silenced forever. He will be missed.
