Vin Scully Drawing by Steve Ramer Can you believe that Vin Scully has been broadcasting Dodger's games for sixty years! He has the longest continuous years with one team. He might just be the greatest broadcaster ever. And that's not just my opinion. The American Sportscasters Association (ASA) recently placed Vin number one on their list of the 50 greatest sportscasters of all time. The ASA also elected him the number one broadcaster of the twentieth century by a vote of more than 500 members. Vin was named baseball's best all time broadcaster in the Baseball book Voices Of Summer in 2005. The choice was based on ten separate categories. Each category was given a score of one to ten. The perfect score being 100. Vin Scully was the only broadcaster to get a 100 score. I grew up near Philadelphia, so I spent my summers listening to Harry Kalas. But I sure remember Vin Scully. Sometimes we would get to hear his voice during the broadcast of the Major League All Star game and World Series. The call I remember most was when the Dodger's Kirk Gibson hit his dramatic game one,1988 World Series home run of of Dennis Eckersly at Dodger Stadium, "High fly to right field...she isssss gone!" After Gibson crossed home plate, Vin said, "In a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened!" I get goose bumps just writing about it. Another of my favorite Vin Scully calls was during game six of the 1986 World Series. The New York Mets were down three games to two against the Boston Red Sox. It was the bottom of the tenth inning and the Mets were down by two runs with two out and nobody on. We all know what happened. But Vin Scully's call of that final play sticks in my mind like no other. "So, the winning run is at second base with two outs...three and two to Mookie Wilson... a little roller up along first.. behind the bag..it gets through Buckner! Here comes Knight and the Mets win it! And who can forget his 1965 call of Sandy Koufax's perfect game. "Two and two to Harvey Kuenn, one strike away. Sandy into his windup, here's the pitch: swung on and missed, a perfect game! On the scoreboard in right field it is 9:46 p.m. in the City of the Angels, Los Angeles, California.." After Dave Michell of the Brooklyn Dodgers struck out to end Don Larsen's perfect game, fans were treated to Vin Scully's call. "Got him! The greatest game ever pitched in baseball history, by Don Larsen! A no-hitter, a perfect game in a World Series ... Never in the history of the game has it ever happened in a World Series ... And so our hats off to Don Larsen—no runs, no hits, no errors, no walks, no base runners. The final score: The Yankees, two runs, five hits and no errors. The Dodgers: No runs, no hits, no errors ... in fact, nothing at all. This was a day to remember, this was a ballgame to remember and above all, the greatest day in the life of Don Larsen. And the most dramatic and well-pitched ballgame in the history of baseball. ... Mel, you can put this in your ring and wear it a long time. I guess I could go on and on with famous Vin Scully calls. There are so many memorable ones. Vin began broadcasting Brooklyn Dodger games in 1950 and has been with them ever since. In 1953 at age 25, he became the youngest ever to broadcast a World Series game. Scully began his career as a student broadcaster and journalist at Fordham University. He joined Red Barber and Connie Desmond in 1950 to broadcast Dodger games. In 1953, Red Barber got into a dispute over money with World Series sponsor Gilliette. So Vin Scully took his place. Vin won the Ford Frick Award placing him into Baseball's Hall Of Fame in 1982. His voice is a big part of my baseball memory banks. I hope he never retires. Can you imagine Dodger games without him?
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