LOS ANGELES (KNX) — "He was the voice of the Dodgers, and so much more."
The Los Angeles Dodgers announced the death of former sports commentator Vin Scully Tuesday night. He was 94.
The team's social media statement said the legendary broadcaster died Tuesday but did not provide additional details.
"Vin Scully was the heartbeat of the Dodgers – and in so many ways, the heartbeat of all of Los Angeles," the team said in a statement.
Born in 1927, the Los Angeles fixture was the "conscience" and "poet laureate" of the team, "capturing their beauty and chronicling their glory from Jackie Robinson to Sandy Koufax, Kirk Gibson to Clayton Kershaw."
After playing in the outfield for two years at Fordham University, Scully began his career covering sports games for the university's radio station. After graduation, he joined WTOP, a CBS radio affiliate in Washington, D.C.
"We have lost an icon," Dodger President Stan Kasten said in the statement. "The Dodgers' 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."
Scully served as broadcaster for the Dodgers from 1950-2016, starting in Brooklyn before spending the overwhelming majority of his career in Los Angeles.
“It was Vinny who introduced the Dodger organization to Southern California, to Los Angeles,” former team owner Peter O’Malley told the Los Angeles Times last month. "There was no one who could have done it better. When you pause to understand the impact that he had then, as well as today, it’s extraordinary.”
When Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run, breaking Babe Ruth’s record in 1974, it happened during a game against the Dodgers. Scully called it.
“A Black man is getting a standing ovation in the Deep South for breaking a record of an all-time baseball idol,” Scully told the audience listening intently over their radios. “What a marvelous moment for baseball.”
He won the Ford C. Frick Award in 1982, earning him an induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He's considered by many to be the greatest announcer in MLB history.
Former president Barack Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in November 2016. Whether narrating a tense game or sharing an ice skating story with Jackie Robinson (watch below), Scully knew how to invite listeners to "pull up a chair."
As the Times' Bill Shaikin eloquently put it, "We will never again see this kind of relationship between a broadcaster and a fan base, at any ballpark."
Scully died at his home in Hidden Hills, California.
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