A staggering loss. Vin Scully, who was the voice of Dodgers baseball for 67 seasons, has died at age 94.
The sports icon died at his home in Los Angeles on Tuesday, August 2, the Los Angeles Dodgers announced after speaking to Scully’s family. A cause of death was not immediately revealed.
“We have lost an icon,” Stan Kasten, Dodgers president and CEO, said in a statement. “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.”
Born in the Bronx in 1927, Scully began his career with the Dodgers in 1950 when the team was still based at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. When his broadcasting partner Red Barber got into a salary dispute with a sponsor ahead of the 1953 World Series, Scully took his place in NBC’s television booth, becoming the youngest person to broadcast a World Series. (The record still stands in 2022.)
Scully stayed with the team when the organization moved to California in 1958. At the time, the Dodgers played in the very large Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which made it difficult for some fans to follow the action. Attendees soon found a solution, however — they brought along handheld transistor radios so they could listen to Scully calling the game on the radio.
The New York native was best known for being the voice of the Dodgers — sticking with the team through 2016, for a total of 67 seasons — but he also worked as an NFL commentator from 1975 to 1982 and contributed to CBS’ tennis and golf coverage throughout that same period.
Shortly after Scully’s 2016 retirement, former President Barack Obama awarded him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. “When he heard about this honor, Vin asked with characteristic humility: ‘Are you sure? I’m just an old baseball announcer,'” the Promised Land author said during the ceremony. “And we had to inform him that to Americans of all ages, you are an old friend.”
Following Scully’s death, tributes poured in from current and former Dodgers players. “He was the best there ever was,” Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw said during a press conference after the team’s Tuesday game. “Just when you think about the Dodgers, there’s a lot of history here and a lot of people that have come through. It’s just a storied franchise all the way around. But it almost starts with Vin, honestly.”
Yasiel Puig, who played for the Dodgers from 2013 to 2018, tweeted: “You gave me my Wild Horse name. You gave me love. You hugged me like a father. I will never forget you, my heart is broken. My hand over your family’s hearts. Los Angeles, I am sorry I am not there with you today to cry together.”
Keep scrolling for five things to know about Scully.