On Aug. 2, 2022, sportscaster Vin Scully died at the age of 94. Born and raised in the Bronx, he announced Dodgers baseball games for 67 seasons, both for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers.
During his long tenure as the "Voice of the Dodgers" in L.A. -- which ended when he retired at 88 in 2016 -- Scully became one of the city's most loved and popular figures.
But, he was also a strong Catholic and a friend of Father Willy Raymond, C.S.C., equally beloved in Hollywood while he was National Director for Family Theater Productions.
Our current National Director, and Head of Production, Father David Guffey, C.S.C., was on hand when Scully came to our studios in 2011 to shoot a special episode of the Faith Bowl series.
It featured former Kansas City Royals baseball star Mike Sweeney (also featured in our documentary PRAY: THE STORY OF PATRICK PEYTON); his dad, high-school coach Mike Sweeney Sr.; and Kristen Sheehan of the University of Notre Dame's "Play Like a Champion" program.
The full video of the show is below. But first, here's how Father Guffey remembers the day:
This week, like all of us in Los Angeles, I am thinking of Vin Scully.
In 2011, Family Theater Productions put out a show called Faith Bowl IV. It was named as such, because we made it to be aired on EWTN and other Catholic networks on Super Bowl Sunday.
The theme of the show was youth and sports. Vin Scully agreed to be the host of Faith Bowl IV, I think, just because Father Willy Raymond, a priest who was our National Director at the time, asked him to.
Mr. Scully came to our studio on Sunset Boulevard looking sharp and camera ready, cheerful and enthused. He greeted everyone in the building as he passed through. He was patient throughout the day of shooting.
I helped with the production and had written the script for introductions.
We asked Vin to give a message about youth and sports. I offered to write something, or to put something he wrote on the teleprompter. He smiled and said, “I think I got this.”
A few minutes later, he gave a beautiful reflection, without pause or hesitation. One take. It was poetry.
That was the first time I met him, but I had the occasion to be with him a few other times.
In each situation, I had the sense I might be in the presence of a saint. He was one of the few people universally admired in Los Angeles, uniting generations, and many neighborhood cultures in a common love of sport and baseball.
He seemed to really bring out the best in people he met. He was a baseball commentator but also a great storyteller.
He was a man of character, courtesy, and a lived faith such that he neither imposed it nor hid it. Faith was simply part of who he was.
Rest in peace.
Image: Family Theater Productions
Kate O’Hare, a longtime entertainment journalist, is Social Media Content Manager at Family Theater Productions.
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