*Vin Scully, the legendary voice of the Dodgers for 67 years, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 94. We would like to express our condolences to his family. To remember him, we are republishing this article written about Mr. Scully by Bob Elliott on Scully’s last day in the broadcast booth (October 2, 2016).

October 2, 2016

By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network
Vin Scully is a poet in a sports coat and tie.

Vin Scully spins intricate stories never missing a twist or turn -- or a ball or a strike.

Vin Scully can tell a story.

(Thanks Capt. Obvious.)

Most of all, Vin Scully, who works the final game of his career Sunday afternoon at AT & T Park in San Francisco, is a historian. 

There have been many wondrous stories about Scully, 88, and his broading brilliance ... our favorite is Mark Whicker’s in the Los Angeles Daily News.

We have three tales to illustrate a little about his story-telling ability, the man’s kindness and how his voice can reach out, grab your heart and gently tug on imaginary strings.  

 Scully's speech at Cooperstown when he won Ford C. Frick in 1982

1. This one comes from former Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti, in his 11th year with the Dodgers and now the senior adviser to the president Stan Kasten and headed to the playoffs yet again -- the seventh National League West title since he’s been there. 

“Think about this Vin met Connie Mack, who was born in 1862 when Abe Lincoln was the president,” Colletti said. “Vin worked for Branch Rickey, who broke into the majors in 1905. There are rookies who made their debut this year who will be talling rookies about Vin’s last year in what the year 2035? In a way Vin Scully has spanned 125 years or more.”

A decade ago the Dodgers were in Phoenix and Colletti was headed to the Bank One Ballpark when he went past the concierge room on the second floor of the Ritz Carlton at 24th and Camelback. There he spotted Bill DeLury of the Dodgers broadcast team and Scully having a cup of tea. They asked him to sit down.

What happened over the next 75 minutes was “one of the coolest baseball moments ever, it was a trip through history,” said Colletti.

The subject of Bobby Thomson’s Shot Heard Round the World came up and how the New York Giants won the third and deciding game of the playoff to decide the 1951 National League pennant winner. 

Scully told how he was watching as Brooklyn’s Pee Wee Reese and Duke Snider singled facing Sal Maglie with the score tied in the eighth and after a wild pitch scored Reese, Jackie Robinson was walked intentionally. Andy Pafko singled home Snider and with two out Billy Cox singled home Robinson for a 4-1 lead. A three run lead with six outs to go and another World Series date with the New York Yankees.   

Scully was at the back of the booth observing. He was not doing the game explaining how the Dodgers and the Giants would play 22 times, 11 games at the Polo Grounds, home of the Giants and 11 at Ebbets Field. 

“When we were at the Polo Grounds we did radio and the Giants did TV,” Scully explained, “when they came to Ebbets Field, we did TV and they did radio.” The first game of the playoffs was in Brooklyn and the next two were at the Polo Grounds, so Red Barber and Connie Desmond broadcast the game for the Dodgers, while Scully watched.

He watched Don Newcombe move down the Giants 1-2-3 in the bottom of the eighth and now they headed to the bottom of the ninth ... three outs left to get. Alvin Dark and Don Mueller opened with singles. One out later Whitey Lockman doubled in Dark. 

Now Scully watched Dodgers manager Charlie Dressen call on Vin’s good friend Ralph Branca bullpen to take over for Newcombe. 

Thompson lined Branca’s second pitch to left for a three-run game winner. No one called it a walk off.

Vin explained to Colletti how he moved from the back of the booth to the front to look down to check on Ralph Branca’s finance, Ann.

“Vin knew Ralph and his wife to very well,” Colletti recalled, “Vin looked down to where she was sitting and described how after the ball went into the seats, Ann opened her purse, calmly, took out a handkerchief, closed the purse, opened the handkerchief and buried her face in the handkerchief.”

Then Scully had to walk to centre field, Giants fans were celebrating, he got to the stairs and was about to walk to the clubhouse and “I had to step over my dear friend Ralph Branca, who laid sobbing, head down on the stairs.”

Red Barber had warned him not to get too close to players. And there was only one player in all the years that he ever got close to: Ralph Branca. Scully and Branca had double dated at times. 

The walls between the Giants and the Dodgers clubhouse at the Polo Grounds were paper thin. Inside the visiting clubhouse the Dodgers could hear the Giants celebrating.  

Scully said he headed into the trainer’s room and there sat Pee Wee Reese and Jackie Robinson in silence. Scully remembers Reese saying “You know Jack, I’ll never understand about this game is how it hasn’t driven me crazy.” 

Both Scully and DeLury were finishing up their second year with the Dodgers in 1951. And Sunday afternoon Scully will finish his 67th season. Some people work until they are 67 and think “I did well, I never cheated the company.” DeLury passed in 2015 at age 81 after 66 years with the Dodgers ... from Brooklyn to Chavez Ravine.

Now, that Oct. 3, 1951 afternoon was much different for DeLury. Leaving Upper Manhattan and the Polo Grounds he headed to the Dodgers office located inside a bank building in Brooklyn. He had to get tickets ready for the World Series against the Yankees.  

This was before the days of social media. DeLury travelled along on the train south into Manhattan. He transferred to take the train East to Brooklyn and saw people glued to the TV sets in the front of store front windows.  

“Waiting for the train a fan who had had too much to drink was walking along the platform muttering ‘how ‘bout my Giants? How ‘bout my Giants?” DeLury told Colletti. DeLury put it down to just another  crazy Giants fan. 

The train showed and DeLury takes it to Brooklyn, enters the bank and pushes the button for the elevator. 

“The cage-like elevator comes down, the operator pulls back the gate, I say ‘three please,’ The guy running the elevator asks ‘Billy what are you doing here?’ I explained I had to get the tickets ready for the World Series. 

“And the guy running the elevator looks at me and says ‘Billy ... your team lost.”

DeLury worked the Dodgers clubhouse, served in the front office, sold advertising in the program, pushed tickets and helped organize spring training before becoming the team’s traveling secretary for 20 years.

“Vin and Billy told those stories like they were telling you about something that had happened last Saturday, not something from 1951,” said Colletti. 

Years later Duke Snider became a broadcaster for the Montreal Expos pairing with Dave Van Horne. John Matthew IV of MLB.com recalls once during a Expos rain delay, they were going to show highlights from the 1951 season. Snider excused himself from the booth saying, “I’ve seen these. I am going to go get a hot dog.” 

Scully has had some of the most memorable calls in history Don Larsen’s perfect game in the 1956 Series, Hank Aaron’s 715th home run in 1974 in Atlanta, Bill Buckner’s muffed ground ball in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series and Kirk Gibson’s pinch hit home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, 

“If Vin had decided to be a writer instead of a broadcaster, he would have been one of the great writers of the last 100 years no matter if he wrote love stories, drama, history, politics or baseball,” said Colletti. “He is a better man than he is than a broadcaster.” 

2. This should be a better story. 

A few years ago attending a banquet in Western Canada a man asked my favorite stadium. My answer was Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City and Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

“Let me tell you about my trip to Dodger Stadium,” said the man, whose name I can’t remember. “It was after the 1984 Olympics which I had covered. I stayed a couple of days and went to the first Dodger game. I went into the dugout did an interview and now was ready to leave.

“Only problem. I had no idea how to get to the press box. This gentleman asked if I needed help. I said “plenty.” just ‘follow me,’ So I followed him to the press box. I was gazing out at the hills it was a clear day. And this man was telling me stories about the Stadium and about the Dodgers.

“It was like he was one part guardian angel and one part tour guide. Finally we got to the press box and he said I have to head in here. You go into the press box and if they don’t have a seat for you, come and see me ... we’ll find a seat in here for you.

“It was only then that I realized who the man was who had led me all the way from the dugout to high above and the press box. It was Vin Scully. How about that? I’m a New York Yankees fan, but eventually I recognized his voice. What a nice man. What a voice. What a gentleman.

“This Hall of Fame guy took time out of his busy schedule to look after a rube like me.”

3. After 9/11 the boss send me to the coast where I was to pick up Barry Bonds as the San Francisco Giants outfielder chased Mark McGwire’s single-season home run record.

The flight from Pearson to LAX was late leaving and I asked the cab to take me directly to Dodger Stadium. We were inching along Sunset when I asked the driver to turn on the pre-game show.

Driver: “I don’t really like baseball.”

I told him they weren’t playing yet.

And then he found Scully’s voice. It was warm and the cabbie didn’t put on his air conditioning. Instead he rolled down his windows. 

After saying “It’s time for Dodger baseball,” Scully spoke on the subject on so many minds of people whether you liked or didn’t like baseball:

“All of us have experienced a litany of emotions — whether it would be shock, disbelief, and horror — followed by grief, mourning, and anger. All of us have indeed lost a lot. We’ve lost thousands of lives. We have lost some of our self-confidence. We have lost some of our freedom. And certainly, we have lost our way of life. The President of the United States has said that it is time to go back to work. And so, despite a heavy heart, baseball gets up out of the dirt, brushes itself off, and will follow his command, hoping in some small way to inspire the nation to do the same. All of the ballplayers in the major leagues are wearing the American flag. Out of patriotism? Yes. Out of love of country? Yes. But moreso out of duty and courage — and to pronounce a national firmness of ‘will.’ God bless us in our efforts. And God bless America.”

Near the end of his speech Scully could be heard in stereophonic sound. Cars to the left, cars to the right. All listening to his words.

The words softened the cabbie.

“I don’t know baseball, but I understand (sniff) this man,” said the driver, his voice quivering. “He knows what he is talking about.”

Looking to our right we saw a driver wiping away a tear.

“Let me ask you,” asked the driver turning around from the front, “is baseball always this sad?”

No, (sniff, sniff) not always.

It might be today to hear Vin say farewell.