Vin Scully through the years

By Seung Lee

Aug. 13, 2014 noon

In July 2014, Vin Scully announced he would return for his 66th season to call games as the Dodgers broadcaster. Here’s a look at the career and life of the legendary broadcaster.

date

headline

series

description

html

Nov. 27, 1927

Vincent Edward Scully is born

Son of a silk salesman and a housewife, Vin Scully is born in the Bronx and grows up in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City. Scully's love for sports radio begins to blossom when he is eight years old.

Vin Scully has been calling Dodgers games since before Dodger Stadium opened in 1962.

Jan. 1, 1949

Getting his start in radio

As a student at Fordham University in the Bronx, Scully plays varsity baseball and calls games for the school radio. One month before graduation, Scully gets his first professional break with a job from a CBS affiliate in Washington D.C.

Nov. 12, 1949

Debut at freezing Fenway

As a radio reporter for CBS Radio, Scully goes to Fenway Park in Boston to do play-by-play at the Maryland-Boston University football game. Beforehand, Scully doesn't know that he'll have to cover the game from the roof. He is exposed to the New England cold without a coat. Scully never remarks on his miserable conditions on radio or to his boss, Brooklyn Dodgers broadcaster Red Barber. Scully's professionalism impresses Barber, who helps Scully get his big break.

Fenway Park in recent times. A 21-year old Vin Scully got a big break covering a college football game in freezing conditions from the roof.

Jan. 1, 1950

Scully joins Dodgers broadcast team

Barber takes Scully under his wing and brings Scully in as the No. 3 broadcaster, behind Barber and Connie Desmond, for Brooklyn Dodgers' television and radio. "Any good things that came my way go back to the day I began working with Red Barber," Scully has said.

Red Barber was a mentor and a paternal figure to young Vin Scully as he began his broadcasting career.

Oct. 1, 1953

Scully calls the World Series

With Barber boycotting due to a salary dispute and Desmond declining to work during the World Series, Scully becomes the Dodgers broadcaster -- alongside the Yankees' Mel Allen -- for the 1953 World Series. It will be the first of 22 World Series for Scully, who becomes the youngest broadcaster to ever call a World Series game.

Scully and Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley, right, at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. O'Malley asked Scully to call the 1953 World Series.

April 18, 1958

Moving to Los Angeles

The O'Malleys move the Dodgers from Brooklyn to Los Angeles in 1958, and Scully makes the trip too. In 1964, the New York Yankees offer Scully the job of lead play-by-play commentator, but Scully declines.

Sept. 9, 1965

"29,000 people and a million butterflies"

There is only one hit in the game on the night Sandy Koufax pitches a perfect game at Dodger Stadium -- the one hit is enough to give the Dodgers a 1-0 win over the Chicago Cubs. Koufax performance is one for the ages and includes 14 strikeouts. Scully's broadcast of the game is notable for capturing the building tension -- of Koufax, the Dodgers, and baseball fans everywhere.

The Los Angeles Times' sports page the day after Koufax's perfect game.

Oct. 1, 1965

Early success in Los Angeles

In its first seven seasons at Los Angeles, the Dodgers win three World Series titles (1959, 1963 and 1965). Scully calls all three World Series with longtime partner Jerry Doggett.

Scully and Doggett in the Dodger Stadium broadcast booth in 1967. Scully and Doggett called Dodgers games together from 1956 to 1987.

April 8, 1974

Aaron's 715th homer

Scully calls Hank Aaron's 715th home run on April 8, 1974, with the Dodgers playing in Atlanta. Aaron drives a ball over the fence in left-center field, breaking Babe Ruth's all-time home run record of 714. Scully notes the cultural significance of the moment -- Aaron, a black man, had faced vitriol as he closed in on Ruth's hallowed record: "A black man is getting a standing ovation in the Deep South for breaking a record of an all-time baseball idol. And it is a great moment for all of us."

Hank Aaron watches his 715th home run sail out of the park. The hit comes against Dodgers reliever Al Downing.

Jan. 1, 1975

Beyond the Dodgers

In 1975, Scully uses his play-by-play talents for CBS broadcasts of NFL games, tennis tournaments, and the PGA Tour while working a reduced schedule for the Dodgers.

Scully announced for CBS Sports from 1975 to 1982.

Jan. 10, 1982

Calling 'The Catch'

In his last season with CBS, Scully called the 1982 NFC Championship Game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys at Candlestick Park. Down by 6 points with a minute to go, San Francisco quarterback Joe Montana throws a high pass to a leaping Dwight Clark in the back of the end zone. "The Catch" is the symbolic start of the 49ers dynasty, which included four Super Bowls in the 1980s.

Called by Scully, "The Catch" is one of the most famous plays in NFL history.

March 1, 1982

Immortalized in Dodgertown

In his 32nd year with the Dodgers, the dodgers name a street Vin Scully Way in Dodgertown, Vero Beach, Fla.

Scully stands by the Vin Scully Way street sign in Florida.

Oct. 25, 1986

'It gets through Buckner!'

After leaving CBS, Scully signs with NBC to cover only weekend baseball games and playoffs from 1983 to 1989. One of his most iconic calls comes during Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, when Boston Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner lets a routine ground ball slip through his legs to allow the New York Mets to score the winning run and extend the series to a seventh game. The Mets won Game 7 the next day. After a long silence from the booth, Scully says, "If one picture is worth a thousand words, you have seen about a million words, but more than that, you have seen an absolutely bizarre finish to Game 6 of the 1986 World Series."

Oct. 15, 1988

'In a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened!'

Scully calls the 1988 World Series between the Dodgers and the Oakland Athletics for NBC. Kirk Gibson, the 1988 National League MVP, does not start Game 1 due to two injured legs but comes in as a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the ninth. Gibson struggles even to walk but hits a walk-off home run to right field against Dennis Eckersley to win the game at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers go on to win the World Series in five games. Gibson did not play the rest of the series.

Gibson limped around the bases after hitting his walk-off home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series.

Jan. 20, 1994

Sorrow and joy

Scully faced several personal tragedies. In 1972, Scully's first wife died of an accidental medical overdose. On Jan. 20, 1994, Scully's eldest son, Michael, dies in a helicopter crash while inspecting the aftermath of the Northridge earthquake. He was 33. The next day, Michael's wife, Kathy, gives birth to Chad Michael Scully. Three days after Chad's birth, Scully, his second wife, Sandra, and Kathy attend Michael's funeral services.

Scully plays with two-month old son Michael, who sits on his mother Joan's lap. Scully lost Joan and Michael in tragic accidents in 1972 and 1994, respectively.

April 21, 2001

Dodgers dedicate Vin Scully Press Box

The Dodgers franchise names the press box at Dodger Stadium after Scully, who had occupied it for 50 years.

Vin Scully is all smiles at the dedication ceremony at Dodger Stadium. His wife, Sandy, is on his right.

May 2, 2012

New ownership

The Guggenheim Baseball Management investment group, which includes former Los Angeles Lakers star Magic Johnson, purchases the Dodgers after a messy divorce and bankruptcy involving the previous owners. Scully joins the news conference welcoming the group as the new owners.

Scully, right, listens to Magic Johnson addressing the media during a news conference at Dodger Stadium.

Jan. 1, 2014

Rose Parade

Scully serves as the grand marshal of the 2014 Tournament of Roses.

July 29, 2014

Returning for his 66th season

The Dodgers announce that Scully will return to the broadcast booth for a 66th season. Explaining his rationale, Scully says, "Naturally there will come a time when I will have to say goodbye, but I’ve soul-searched, and this is not the time."

Scully acknowledges the crowd at Dodger Stadium after the team announced that Scully would return for his 66th season.