The Sound Of Summer
The late, great broadcasting legend Vin Scully would always start L.A. Dodgers games by saying, “Pull up a chair and spend part of an evening with us.”
With his buttery smooth voice, Scully was a baseball announcer for 67 summers, from 1950 to 2016. First with the Brooklyn Dodgers and later the Los Angeles Dodgers. Hey, I’m a Yankees fan, but every baseball fan was heartbroken when the Dodgers left Brooklyn, where they were affectionately called “Dem Bums.” Like paddy wagon, bum is another great, colorful word you can’t say today.
Scully called all the big ones, Flippy Johnson. He was behind the mic when the Brooklyn Dodgers won their only World Series title. He called many all-star games and two dozen World Series, including when Don Larsen of the Yankees pitched a perfect game against the Dodgers. Scully was also in the booth when Hank Aaron cracked number 715 and broke Babe Ruth’s career home-run record.
Fans were so fond of Scully’s voice they would bring transistor radios to Dodger Stadium so they could listen to Scully call the play-by-play instead of the ballpark announcer. When Bob Costas was a kid, he used to listen to Scully call games on a transistor radio he hid under his pillow. I ordered a transistor radio the other day for old times’ sake. Used to be standard equipment for tunes, baseball games, and heavyweight title fights.
Often fans would run into Scully as time went by and tell them his voice made them think of summer nights with their dad, having a barbecue in the backyard. Same here. Vin was born in the Bronx, the son of Irish immigrants. He always dressed for the game in a crisp white shirt, blazer, and perfectly knotted tie, even on the hottest summer nights.
Once, to the dismay of Dodger fans, he called Giants star Willie Mays the best ballplayer he’d ever seen. So it was fitting that Willie joined him in the booth for his final broadcast. He signed off by telling the audience, “You and I have been friends for a long time, but I know in my heart that I’ve always needed you more than you’ve ever needed me.” The voice of summer for generations is now silent. Vin Scully was the definition of old school cool and the best baseball broadcaster ever.
Keep your dukes up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnPTmTt7f7c
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