August 2 saw the passing of the legendary American sportscaster Vin Scully. He is best known for the 67 season that he broadcast for the Dodgers, beginning in Brooklyn in 1950 and ending in Los Angeles in 2016.
His stay with the Dodgers was the longest of any broadcaster with a single team in the history of professional sports. Along with his baseball achievements he also called nationally televised football and golf tournaments for CBS Sports.
What is not so well known is his strong connection to Columbus, Mississippi. Scully became a baseball fan at 8-years-old when he listened to the second game of the 1936 World Series between the Yankees and the Giants at a laundromat.
He served two years in the Navy and then enrolled in Fordham University. After graduating from Fordham, he sent 150 letters to various stations along the East coast. The only positive response came from the CBS affiliate in Washington, D.C. which hired him as a fill-in.
At that time the Hall of Fame broadcaster Red Barber, who grew up in Columbus, Mississippi, was director of sports for the CBS radio network. In November of 1949, Barber sent Scully to Fenway Park in Boston to cover a football game between the University of Maryland and Boston University.
Scully’s assumption at the time was that he would be covering the game from an enclosed press box. Because of this he had left his coat and gloves at the hotel. Scully was forced to do the entire game from the roof at Fenway Park. Despite the bitterly cold and frigid working conditions Scully never mentioned the extreme discomfort he was experiencing on the air. This fact made a strong and vivid impression on Red Barber.
In 1950 Barber hired Scully to join himself and Connie Desmond in the Brooklyn Dodgers radio and television booth. In 1954 Barber left Brooklyn for the New York Yankees. Scully then became the team’s principal announcer in Brooklyn until 1957 when the team moved to Los Angeles.
I want to share some excerpts from the very exhaustive recent biography of Red Barber by James R. Walker and Judith R. Hiltner, the two Chicago University professors who visited Columbus to do some of their research.
“Throughout his career Scully credited Barber with giving him his first big break and instilling the discipline and values of a professional baseball announcer.”
When he was initially hired by Brooklyn, he had to pass a three hour interview with the great Mahatma, Branch Rickey. After the interview was concluded, Ricky called Barber and said the following,”Walter, this Branch. I don’t wish to trespass upon your time, but you sent the right young man; good day.”
When the citizens of Columbus decided to honor Red Barber in 2008, I contacted the Los Angeles Dodgers and asked if it were possible for Vin Scully to do a video tribute honoring the Old Redhead. Both the Dodgers and Vin Scully could not have been more gracious and accommodating. The best way to describe the relationship between Scully and Barber was a comment in the tribute that was sent to Columbus. Scully’s own words stated, “The simplest way for me to describe my relationship with the great Red Barber is to say that he was like a father to me and I believe I was a son to him.”
Glenn Lautzenhiser, of Columbus, is a long-time baseball enthusiast and served more than 25 years as a member of the Columbus Municipal School District board of trustees.
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