Thanks Vicki very much for sharing this great article with us. This was very
interesting.
Pete
Sent from my iPhone
On Sep 23, 2016, at 11:21 PM, Vickie <rolisonv@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Bob Costas shares great story of introducing Ray Charles to Vin Scully Nate
Scott , USA TODAY Sports Vin Scully. (Photo: USA TODAY Sports)
Vin Scully will end his career calling Dodgers games at the conclusion of
this regular season, his 67th consecutive season working the games. In a
wonderful oral history
put together by ESPN , Scully's colleagues and contemporaries in the
broadcasting world recount their favorite stories about the legendary
announcer. My
favorite story comes from Bob Costas, who shares the tale of the time he
introduced Scully to a star-struck Ray Charles. Here's Costas: "Somewhere
around
1994, '95, I was interviewing Ray Charles for an NBC news magazine and
probably spent a couple of hours talking with him. ' Then, when we're done
and the
cameras had been turned off, he says to me, 'You know who I would really like
to meet? And I'm thinking, 'He's Ray Charles. He could have met just about
anybody he'd wanted to have met throughout the course of his life. Who might
it be? ' 'Vin Scully. And I say, 'Why? And he says, 'Well, because I love
baseball. But you have to understand, to me the picture means nothing. It's
all the sound. And Vin Scully's broadcasts are almost musical, so I enjoy
baseball
so much more listening to him.' ' So I set it up with Vin and took Ray to
Dodger Stadium. I was sitting across from Ray, and there was an empty seat
awaiting
Vin's arrival, and Vin came walking through the door wearing - as I remember
- a royal blue jacket, the way he is always turned out for a baseball
broadcast.
And as he walked toward Charles, he said, 'Ray, my name is Vin Scully, and
it's a pleasure to meet you. He might as well have said, 'A pleasant good
evening
to you wherever you may be,' because that's how it struck Ray. And then they
sat down, and we had a combination baseball and music discussion. Vin had
a nice experience. And Ray Charles - and I mean this sincerely - he's Ray
freaking Charles - I believe he had one of the great experiences of his life.
The entire oral history is really wonderful, and you should read the entire
thing over at ESPN .
