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On Tuesday night the baseball world lost a legend. Longtime Los Angeles Dodgers broadcaster and Hall of Famer Vin Scully has died at his home in California.. He was 94. The Bronx-born Scully called national football and golf broadcasts, including for CBS Sports from 1975-82, in addition to his baseball duties.
“He was the voice of the Dodgers, and more. He was their conscience, their poet laureate, capturing their beauty and chronicling their glory from Jackie Robinson to Sandy Koufax, Kirk Gibson to Clayton Kershaw. Vin Scully was the heartbeat of the Dodgers – and in many ways, the heartbeat of all of Los Angeles,” the team said in a statement.
Truth be told, Scully’s most famous call wasn’t about baseball. It came on Joe Montana’s touchdown pass to Dwight Clark in the 1982 NFC Championship Game, in what is simply known as “The Catch.”
Scully called countless games in his 67-year career, including 18 no-hitters and three perfect games. Speaking as someone who grew up on the East Coast, Scully was often the last voice I heard before I went to bed every night, and staying up late to listen to his broadcasts is one of my fondest baseball memories. I’m sure there are others who feel the same way.
Here are 10 of Scully’s most memorable baseball calls. This is not a ranking, there is no need to discuss these things and we can appreciate them all equally. It’s a trip down memory lane with the best ever.
Oct. 8, 1956: Don Larsen’s Perfect Game
The only perfect game in World Series history came in Game 1 of the 1956 Fall Classic, and Scully was at Yankee Stadium to call it. Of course it was. Larsen pitched a perfect game against the then-Brooklyn Dodgers. Here’s Scully’s call to the final:
September 9, 1965: Sandy Koufax’s perfect game
There have been 23 perfect games in baseball history, including Larsen’s in the World Series, and Scully was behind the mic for 13 percent of them. He called Larsen’s perfect game in 1956, Koufax’s perfect game in 1965 and later called Dennis Martinez’s perfect game in 1991.
April 8, 1974: Hank Aaron breaks Babe Ruth’s hitting record
Scully was a great broadcaster not so much because of the way he described the game on the field, but because he was curious about the game and always had a story to tell and could put the greatest moments in perspective. He did just that the night Aaron became the all-time home run king, explaining why it was so much more than a home run milestone.
October 5, 1986: Bill Bucker’s mistake
The baseball gods have a way of putting the right people in the right place at the right time, and Scully was called upon for what looks like every iconic moment of the past 75 years. Here Scully calls Bucker’s walk-off error in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series at Shea Stadium.
October 15, 1988: Kirk Gibson’s home
Arguably the most iconic home run in baseball history — Gibson’s walk-off homer in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series — named by The the most iconic television station in baseball history. “In a year that was so unlikely, the impossible happened.” A legendary summon that will last as long as this game is played.
October 23, 1993: Joe Carter’s home
This is one of the few cases where Scully’s call is only the second most famous. Tom Cheek’s legendary “Touch’em all Joe! You’ll never hit a greater home run!” call with live forever, but of course Scully was at home for Carter’s World Series winning Game 6 of the 1993 Fall Classic.
March 9, 2008: Public Enemy No. 1
The baseball world didn’t know much about Clayton Kershaw in spring training in 2008. He was a Double-A pitching prospect at a time when video of the prospect was much, much harder to come by. In a Cactus League game that spring, Kershaw iced Sean Casey with his signature curveball, much to Mr. Scully’s delight.
August 6, 2012: The collapse of Jim Tracy
Long before the days of lip readers turning manager braces into viral videos, Scully put his own spin on Tracy’s meltdown after the umpires’ conference call and overturned a trap call up the middle. “This is flashing fertilizer.”
June 8, 2014: Clayton Kershaw’s no-hitter
Scully has thrown 18 no-hitters in his incredible career, and the last was Kershaw’s in 2014, which was a Hanley Ramirez throw that turned out to be a perfect game. Kershaw’s 15 strikeouts remain the most ever by a no-hitter.
Oct. 2, 2016: The final signature
Scully retired in 2016 and gave an emotional sign during the game. His final call was a Rob Segedin fly ball to Ángel Pagán in left field at what was then AT&T Park, which clinched a wild-card spot for the Giants. A happy end to the longest and most enjoyable sports career in sports history.
“I have said enough for a lifetime, and for the last time, I wish everyone a very pleasant good afternoon.”
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