One of the icons of American sports broadcasting, Vin Scully, will be back for his 67th season with the Dodgers franchise in 2016. The announcement made during tonight’s game with the Chicago Cubs, Scully informed viewers on SportsNet LA and listeners on KLAC that he’ll be back next season, thanked management and went on to broadcast the game.
Scully began with the Dodgers in 1950 when they were in Brooklyn and worked with his mentor Red Barber and Connie Desmond. He moved with the Dodgers to Los Angeles in 1958 and has been in the broadcast booth to the present day.
Among his career highlights, Scully’s called 25 no-hitters, 25 World Series, three perfect games, and one interesting stat forwarded by Sportsnet in Canada:
Vin Scully has seen these people in his career as a broadcaster Cubs SS Addison Russell: Born 1994 A's Manager Connie Mack: Born…1862
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) August 29, 2015
Here’s the announcement from the Dodgers:
HALL OF FAME BROADCASTER VIN SCULLY TO RETURN FOR 67th SEASONLOS ANGELES – Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully, an icon in American sports history, has announced he will return to the Dodgers broadcast booth for an unprecedented 67th season in 2016.
“I talked it over with my wife, Sandi, and my family and we’ve decided to do it again in 2016,” Scully said. “There’s no place like home and Dodger Stadium and we look forward to being a part of it with all of our friends.”
“Vin is a national treasure and the Dodgers couldn’t be happier to have him back at the microphone in 2016,” said Dodgers’ President and CEO Stan Kasten. “Vin makes every broadcast special and generation after generation of Dodger fans have been blessed to be able to listen to him create his poetic magic since 1950. We look forward to adding many new chapters to that legacy in 2016.”
Widely regarded as the finest sportscaster of all time, Scully’s 66 years of service mark the longest tenure in his field.
Scully began his professional baseball broadcasting career in 1950 with the Brooklyn Dodgers. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982. During his unmatched career, he has called three perfect games, 25 no-hitters, 25 World Series and 12 All-Star Games. Iconic moments called by Scully include Kirk Gibson’s miraculous Game 1 homer in the 1988 World Series, Don Larsen’s perfect game in the 1956 World Series, Hank Aaron’s record-setting 715th home run, Sandy Koufax’s four no-hitters, including a perfect game, and the scoreless-inning streaks of Dodger greats Don Drysdale and Orel Hershiser.
When Scully began broadcasting, the Dodgers had yet to win a World Series. Three years later, at the age of 25, he became the youngest person to ever broadcast a World Series game. In 1955, he had his most memorable moment behind the microphone, as he called the Dodgers’ first and only championship in Brooklyn.
In Los Angeles, Scully has called Dodgers World Championships in 1959, ’63, ’65, ’81 and ’88 and he was elected the top sportscaster of the 20th century by the non-profit American Sportscasters Association.
It will be great to have Vin back in 2016. Two of the constants on television, Vin Scully and the Today Show. One is beloved, the other is a complete mess.
