On the TunneySide of SportsAfter further review…
The acronym G.O.A.T. is too often used to describe athletes for outstanding achievements. The term has also been applied to anyone who achieves some spectacular feat. G-O-A-T is translated to mean the Greatest Of All Time! I have often derided those who want to claim their “hero” is the G.O.A.T. as records are meant to be broken. Vin Scully is an exception!
In 1975, I terminated my job as principal of Hollywood High School (Yes, THAT Hollywood High School, corner of Sunset and Highland in Hollywood) and accepted the position of Assistant Superintendent in the Bellflower Unified School District in Bellflower. The phone rang. It was Vin Scully. I had met Scully a few times over several years when my close friend, Rollie Seidler (he married Terry O’Malley Seidler) had entrance to the Dodgers broadcast booth from where Scully was to broadcast the games. My grandsons Jake and Nash were with me on occasion as were my own kids Maureen, Mike, and Mark.
Anyway, the phone call from Scully said he had been hired by CBS to broadcast NFL games along with George Allen as the analyst. Allen was the former coach of the Los Angeles Rams and Washington Redskins. I wished him good luck with that one! I had known Allen when he coached at Whittier College. Scully said he would like to meet with me to discuss NFL rules and interpretations. I was honored! It was my 16th year as an NFL official and I was giving rules presentations to NFL teams in pre-season, so I felt comfortable meeting with Scully. We agreed on meeting at Dodgers Stadium in August when the team was in town.
We met, just Scully and me, for an early dinner (4:30 p.m.) before his broadcast. We met 5-6 times at that hour. Vin was insightful and inquisitive. He was a lifelong learner (Fordham University grad). During that 1975 season, we crossed paths a few times at games we both worked. The last game Scully did was “The Catch” — Joe Montana to Dwight Clark in the 1982 NFC Championship game at Candlestick. I was the referee.
Years passed and I hadn’t seen Vin for a while until one day as I exited the Spanish Bay Inn in Pebble Beach I spotted him. Scully was picking up his luggage and loading it in the trunk of his car with his back toward me. As I approached (and he couldn’t see me) I said,” There’s a fanny I’ll never forget! “And I never will!
Will you remember the style and class of Vincent Edward Scully, as I will, forever?
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