Legendary Hall of Fame Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully passed away on Tuesday at the age of 94, the team said.
Scully was the voice of the team in both Brooklyn and Los Angeles for a total of 67 years. Scully passed away at his home in Hidden Hills, a section of Los Angeles according to the club, and no cause of death was provided. “We have lost an icon,” Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten said in a statement, “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. 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. I know he was looking forward to joining the love of his life, Sandi. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family during this very difficult time. Vin will be truly missed.”
As the longest tenured broadcaster in pro sports history, Scully saw it all and called it all. He started in the era of the 1950s with Pee Wee Reese and Jackie Robinson, the 60s with Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax, in the 70s with Steve Garvey and Don Sutton, and through the 80s with Orel Hershiser and Fernando Velenzuela. Onto the 90s it was Mike Piazza and Hideo Nomo, followed by Clayton Kershaw, Manny Ramirez, and Yasiel Puig in the 21st century. He broadcasted his final game in October 2016 when the Dodgers beat the Giants at Oracle Park in San Francisco, and a tribute was shown for Scully on the videoboard in which fans from both teams applauded him before exiting. He was part of many big moments including three perfect games- by Don Larsen in the 1956 World Series, Koufax in 1965, and Dennis Martinez in 1991, along with 20 no-hitters. He was on air in 1968 when Drysdale set a scoreless innings streak of 58 2/3, and again when Hershiser broke that record 20 years later. When Hank Aaron hit his 715th homerun against the Dodgers in 1974 to break Babe Ruths record, again Scully was there to call it.
“Today we mourn the loss of a legend in our game,” Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “Vin was an extraordinary man whose gift for broadcasting brought joy to generations of Dodger fans. In addition, his voice played a memorable role in some of the greatest moments in the history of our sport. I am proud that Vin was synonymous with baseball because he embodied the very best of our national pastime. As great as he was as a broadcaster, he was equally great as a person. On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my deepest condolences to Vin’s family, friends, Dodger fans, and his admirers everywhere.”
Scully was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982, also receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame that year, and had the stadiums press box named for him in 2001. In 2016, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Barrack Obama and the street leading up to the main gate of Dodger Stadium was named after him. In addition to being the voice of the Dodgers, Scully called play-by-play for NFL games and PGA Tour events as well as calling 25 World Series and 12 All-Star Games. He was lead baseball announcer for NBC from 1983 to 1989. Scully also received the Commissioners Historic Achievement Award, which recognizes accomplishments and contributions of historical significance in 2014. He became just the second non-player to receive the award joining Rachel Robinson (widow of Jackie Robinson).
After retiring in 2016, Scully made just a handful of appearances at Dodger Stadium and his sweet voice was heard narrating an occasional video played during games. Mostly, he was content to stay close to home. “I just want to be remembered as a good man, an honest man, and one who lived up to his own beliefs,” he said in 2016.
