'The Voice of the Catch': Vin Scully Passes Away

He served in the United States Navy for two years and began his radio career at the age of 22. ... and what a career it was.

Vin Scully, the the voice of baseball for generations and he is also known in NFL circles for being a legendary football broadcaster - including as "The Voice of the Catch,'' passed away Tuesday at the age of 94.

The announcement was made, fittingly, by the Los Angeles Dodgers, as Scully was the one-of-a-kind play-by-play voice of the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers for 67 years before his retirement in 1986.

"He was the voice of the Dodgers, and so much more. He was their conscience, their laureate, capturing their beauty and chronicling their glory from Jackie Robinson to Sandy Koufax, Kirk Gibson to Clayton Kershaw," the Dodgers said in their statement. "Vin Scully was the heartbeat of the Dodgers -- and in so many ways, the heartbeat of all of Los Angeles."

But he was also a longtime NFL broadcaster, with his most famous NFL call being one of the Cowboys' most painful moments. Scully was at the TV microphone for the 1982 NFL Championship Game when San Francisco 49ers receiver Dwight Clark recorded his game-winning touchdown grab from QB Joe Montana, which would oust Dallas from Super Bowl contention as it was immortalized as "The Catch."

Scully is a Baseball Hall of Fame broadcaster, but from 1975 to 1982 he was also at CBS Sports working high-profile NFL games. Additionally he was there when the Dodgers were in Brooklyn and when they list, when Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth's home run record in 1974, and when Kirk Gibson hit his dramatic World Series home run for the Dodgers in 1988.

He served in the United States Navy for two years and began his radio career at the age of 22. ... and what a career it was.


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Mike Fisher
MIKE FISHER

Mike Fisher - as a newspaper beat writer and columnist and on radio and TV, where he is an Emmy winner - has covered the NFL since 1983 and the Dallas Cowboys since 1990, is the author of two best-selling books on the Cowboys.