Sportscaster Vin Scully called games for the Los Angeles Dodgers for 67 years and left a massive legacy in his wake. (photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Dodgers)

Vincent Edward Scully died in his Hidden Hills home on Aug. 2. He was 94.

The iconic sportscaster served as the voice of the Dodgers and so many more for 67 years, but his Brooklyn accent – a nostalgic sound for numerous fans – had graced sports’ largest stages, from NFL championship games to the World Series to the Masters.

The Dodgers considered him “their conscience, their poet laureate,” a man who chronicled the club’s history from Jackie Robinson to Clayton Kershaw.

“We have lost an icon,” Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten said. “The Dodgers’ Vin Scully was one of the greatest voices in all of sports. He was a giant of a man, not only as a broadcaster, but as a humanitarian. He loved people. He loved life. He loved baseball and the Dodgers. And he loved his family. His voice will always be heard and etched in all of our minds forever. I know he was looking forward to joining the love of his life, Sandi. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family during this very difficult time. Vin will truly be missed.”

Scully retired from broadcasting in 2016, and that year, the city of Beverly Hills honored his legacy with a proclamation declaring Sept. 23 as “Vin Scully Day in the City of Beverly Hills.” In 2017, then-Mayor John Mirisch awarded Scully the key to the city of Beverly Hills.

On Aug. 2, the City Council adjourned its regular meeting in honor of the late, great sports legend.

“This is an awful loss for his family,” Councilman Mirisch, a life-long Dodgers fan, said. “May they find comfort in his blessed memory and a life well lived.”

He said the news of Scully’s passing was particularly difficult for the Mirisch family, as the famed announcer bridged gaps between generations.

“He’s the link between my own grandfather and my own son, who was born decades after my grandfather passed,” Mirisch added. “He connected Los Angeles to Brooklyn – to many of our own grandparents in Brooklyn. He connected us to Jackie Robinson to Sandy Koufax to Duke Snider to Gil Hodges. Maybe most importantly, he connected us to each other.”

The councilman said Scully was the “best in humanity,” “pure class” and a “complete mensch.” Mirisch said Scully “was the voice of his childhood,” as he often fell asleep with a transistor radio under his pillow, listening to Dodgers games.

“The Dodgers have done more to create common community among Southern California’s diverse populations than almost anything else. A lot of that was Vin Scully,” Mirisch added.

He mentioned one of Scully’s signature moves – letting the roar of the crowd tell the story rather than him.

“I can’t really imagine a world without Vin Scully,” Mirisch said. “I can’t imagine the Dodgers without Vin Scully. It maybe is an overused phrase, but we shall never see his likes again.”

He also noted that the Dodgers beat the San Francisco Giants on Aug. 2, 9-5.

“At least in that respect, all is as it should be,” Mirisch added.

Over the years, Scully made himself available to reporters at the Beverly Press/Park Labrea News, starting with an in-person interview with this reporter at Dodger Stadium in 2012, at the beginning of his 64th season calling Dodgers games.

“I don’t think anyone envisions living a certain number of years, and I certainly never thought I’d be broadcasting,” he said at the time. “When I first started, I mean, it was day to day. You know, worrying that you wouldn’t lose your job or mess up on the air or whatever. It took several years before I was able to relax and think that I was reasonably accepted.”

At the time, Scully was determining year-to-year whether he would continue to return to the press box. At 85, he said “love, pure and simple” is what kept him coming back.

“Love of the game, love of the people, and I just really enjoy being with people,” Scully added. “And I was just not ready to say goodbye. I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready, but I know a time will come when I will say goodbye.”

At that point, the biggest moment of his career was still the Brooklyn Dodgers’ victory over the New York Yankees in the 1955 World Series, he said.

“It just happened I was on the last half of the game, working with Mel Allen,” Scully said. “I was able to say that the Brooklyn Dodgers were champions of the world. That was a big moment. I’d been with them since 1950, and I knew their frustrations. They always got so close and always lost. Then, in ’55 they won, and I understood. So that was a great emotion. We’ve had so many. I had great emotion, really, when Henry Aaron hit the homerun to break Babe Ruth’s mark. I just happened to be there – you know, luck.

“There have been a lot of moments. Then, I’ve had great moments in golf and great moments in football too. So, I’ve really been blessed that there’s a long, long list of golden sports moments, and I’ve been fortunate enough – not that I did anything – to be there to see it. That’s great.”

His classic calls to that point included three perfect games, 25 no-hitters, 25 World Series and 12 All-Star games, as well as Kirk Gibson’s Game 1 dinger in the 1988 World Series.

“The only real feeling I have about the whole package is one of great thanksgiving and great humility,” Scully said. “Even when I went into the Hall of Fame, in my speech, I said, ‘Why me?’ I’m just a kid from the streets of New York. I’ve just been so fortunate and God has been so good to me, that the only feelings I have are overwhelming thanks. I’ve never, ever been able to figure out why I’ve had such good fortune. I don’t know, but I should be on my knees every day.”

He also spoke to being referred to as the “definition of class” and how a young reporter could follow suit.

“I think deep down inside you know … you really know what would separate you from the ordinary,” the Hall of Famer said. “I don’t think anyone else can tell you. I think if you stop and think about yourself and your relationship with other people, you’ll come to your own definition of class. … I tried very hard to be polite, to be thoughtful — all of the good things you would perhaps associate with that. It’s hard to define that word, but I think each person can define it. That’s why I said, deep down inside you know what it is to be a class act. Whether you want to work that hard to reach those goals, you know. It’s in there.”

Prior to his retirement in 2016, he also made time for the newspaper after receiving a lifetime achievement award at the L.A. Sports Awards ceremony earlier that year.

“I just had one other thing to say, and I have thought about it for a while,” he said. “It’s simply this: The award is a ‘lifetime achievement’ award, and I gave it thought. ‘Lifetime’ is not in my hands. It’s God’s will how long my life will be. So I had nothing to do with ‘lifetime.’ And then I looked at ‘achievement.’ Well sure, if you read my biography, they will tell you that, ‘he broadcast 25 no-hitters, 8,000 home runs, three perfect games.’ But it wasn’t my achievement. I mean, I was fortunate to be there, but I didn’t pitch a no-hitter. I didn’t hit a home run. All of a sudden, the award is a little different. We all can’t be heroes. Most of us have to stand at the curb and cheer as they go by. For 67 years, thank God, that’s what I’ve been blessed to be. I’ve been that man on the curb applauding as the heroes went by.”

A very pleasant good evening to you, Mr. Scully, wherever you may be.