Vin Scully’s most enduring home was the booth at Dodger Stadium, but he was just as adept at taking turns handling booths at golf tournaments.
Jane Comin Onsea/USA Today
“Want to see perhaps the wildest moment in the history of professional sports? Here comes the Commissioner!
– CBS Golf Announcer Vin Scully, 1982 Players Championship
Few voices of past legends rest in peace like Vincent Edward Scully. Los Angeles Scully, best known for his 67 years as a play-by-play announcer for the Dodgers, has supported golf coverage for his seven years on both CBS and NBC. His partnership in the booth with Lee Trevino remains his one of the preeminent duos in gaming TV history, remembered for his Scully knack for unwrapping Merry Mex gab gifts. became what remains.
When I sat next to him, Trevino knew his greatness. Scully could call in any sport and in any environment, but his style was best suited to the slow pace and vast spaces offered by golf and baseball. If it takes time, Scully told the story in a laid-back manner that was somewhat unusual for the Irish from the Bronx.
Some are timeless, while others define an era. Scully was the definition of a not-so-complicated era when imagination ran wild, clocks ticked slower, and cell phones weren’t glued to her face in her three-quarters of the world.
Thank you Big Fella for letting us preserve our memories.
Today’s television urges anyone behind the microphone to avoid “dead air,” time when no one is talking. According to industry handbooks, it either bores or annoys viewers, and doesn’t do much to explain the phrase “peace and quiet.”
Like brilliant trumpeter Miles Davis, Scully turned dead air into a work of art. He finds some very valuable purposes for these pauses. It’s a chance to reflect, appreciate, and tell your kids to shut up. His most notable word void came after Kirk Gibson’s pinch-hitting home run in the bottom of the ninth scored the Dodgers, the Oakland Athletics’ big underdog, Game 1 win of the 1988 World Series.
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The hoopla created by 55,983 endorsers that night was all they needed to hear. It was safe enough to say nothing to and tough enough to defy conventional wisdom decreed by critical perceivers. He also had the courage to break down the racist cynicism in 1974 when Hank his Aaron overtook Babe his Ruth to become Major League Baseball’s leading home run hitter.
“What a great moment for the country and the world,” said Scully, who handled the NBC telecast. “Black man gets standing ovation in the South for breaking record for all-time baseball idol.”
It was not surprising that the man briefly presided over golf tournaments. Scully spent at least six months each year solely focused on baseball. He may participate in PGA Tour events. The Dodgers voice had little time to watch on television. His tireless preparation made him as trustworthy as he was to listen to, but with Trevino by his side, having fun became paramount.
Never has laughter been louder than at the end of The Players in 1982. When winner Jerry Pate pushed Tour Commissioner Dean Beeman into the lake by the 18th green and escorted TPC Sawgrass architect Pete Dye into the water before diving himself, Scully We framed the moment in golden perspective and called it the scene ‘Hellzapoppin’ or Right by Animal House.
His golf career began at CBS, home of the Masters. Scully’s gentlemanly demeanor and easy-going nuance soon attracted him to his membership in Augusta National. As was the case with Pat Summerall, with whom Scully frequently worked, the high-profile golf assignment was no easy task for a broadcaster who didn’t have anything close to a deep background in the game.
Brent Musburger was constantly vilified for his performances at big events. Much of it was unjust.CBS exposed him to too many harmful extremes in his prime.This is very different from being incompetent.Thanks to Jim Nantz’s boundless polish as a TV show host. In, he managed to fend off the wrath of media reporters for years. The same could be said about Mike Tillico, who doesn’t carry Nantz’s workload, but not many have earned that kind of income. Then he started talking about the little white ball.
Scully was one of them. His grace as an observer and his introspective nature made him a man in any season, a prominent presence at any gathering where professional athletes competed and someone kept scores. Golf has been fortunate to benefit from his contributions. In return, Scully appreciated his excellence more enthusiastically and served a fresh audience.
A moment of silence seems appropriate for several reasons.
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