Vin Scully honored with Commissioner's Historic Achievement Award
Dodgers Icon Becomes 14th Recipient and Only Second Non-Player Recognized
LOS ANGELES - This afternoon, Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig presented Los Angeles Dodgers Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully with the Commissioner's Historic Achievement Award. The presentation was made at Dodger Stadium, prior to the Club's home game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Scully is the 14th recipient of the Commissioner's Historic Achievement Award, which was created in 1998 to recognize accomplishments and contributions of historical significance. The most recent recipient was New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, who was honored during the 2013 World Series. Scully is only the second non-player to be recognized, joining a fellow member of the Dodgers family, Rachel Robinson, who was honored in 2007 for advancing the legacy of her husband, Jackie Robinson.
Scully's 65 years of consecutive service with the Dodgers is the longest of any sports broadcaster with one team. He joined the Brooklyn Dodgers' broadcast team in 1950, a year removed from graduating from Fordham University, where he played baseball. In 1953, the 25-year-old Scully became the youngest person ever to broadcast a World Series game. Two years later, he was behind the microphone for the Brooklyn Dodgers' first and only World Series Championship. On October 8, 1956, Scully was in the booth for the only perfect game in Postseason history when Don Larsen of the New York Yankees blanked the Dodgers in Game Five at Yankee Stadium.
In addition to his career chronicling the Dodgers, Scully has called 25 World Series, 12 All-Star Games and many national Games of the Week. He delivered play by play for Hank Aaron's record-breaking 715th home run in Atlanta on April 8, 1974. Scully's television call of Kirk Gibson's pinch-hit home run in Game One of the 1988 Fall Classic has become one of the most oft-repeated plays in Baseball history. He served as the master of ceremonies for the unveiling of Major League Baseball's All-Century Team during the 1999 World Series. Scully has received countless honors in the sports world and beyond, from the 1982 Ford C. Frick Award for excellence in baseball broadcasting from the National Baseball Hall of Fame to his 2009 induction to the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame, where his plaque joined those of Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Edward R. Murrow and other luminaries from all facets of broadcasting.
Commissioner Selig said: "Vin Scully is a treasure of the National Pastime. From Brooklyn to Los Angeles, from Jackie Robinson through Henry Aaron and from Sandy Koufax through Clayton Kershaw, Vin has depicted the history of the Dodgers and the timeless beauty of our game with class and grace. Major League Baseball is honored to commend Vin Scully's 65 years of excellence."
On July 29, 2014, Scully announced that he will return to the Dodger broadcast booth for an unprecedented 66th season in 2015.