#Elevated faith full#

The headline: “ The life, faith, and death of Vin Scully and our longing for God.” Is this Catholic angle relevant? I thought this summary - from a Catholic website, of course - is pretty effective. I wish there was something even vaguely spiritual to quote, but there isn’t. Nevertheless, the Times obit doesn’t contain a single reference to Scully’s Christian faith. Today, Fordham is nationally known for putting the “liberal” in “liberal arts,” but in the pre-Vatican II days, this famous Jesuit university and its prep school were probably intensely Catholic, even in terms of doctrine and the practice of the faith. Scully began broadcasting at Ebbets Field in 1950, when he was a slender, red-haired 22-year-old graduate of Fordham University and a protégé of Red Barber.Īh, the word “Fordham” stands in for “Catholic,” in several crucial references. 1 on its list of the “Top 50 Sportscasters of All Time.” In 2009, the American Sportscasters Association voted him No. He called baseball’s Game of the Week, All-Star Games, the playoffs and more than two dozen World Series. He was a national sports treasure as well, broadcasting for CBS and NBC. Scully was the enduring face of the franchise. All of that, without a single mention of the word “Catholic.” How did the Gray Lady pull that off? Here’s a hint:įor all the Dodgers’ marquee players since World War II, Mr. Sure enough, readers who dig into the lengthy New York Times obit for the legendary Dodgers broadcaster - Brooklyn before Los Angeles, of course - will learn that Scully went to a Catholic prep school, played for a Catholic baseball team and graduated from a Catholic University. I don’t know about you, but I think that the whole “pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death” thing might have been relevant when writing a mainstream media obituary for Scully.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.

#Elevated faith full#

Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.īlessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. It also helps to click on this YouTube link and then close your eyes as you listen to that famous Scully voice speak these words, probably from memory: one of several baseball fanatics who have written for GetReligion - has written about Scully’s faith several times ( click here and then here). If you read GetReligion, you know that Vin Scully - the greatest sports broadcaster ever ( click here for a collection of his greatest hits) - was a faithful Catholic and that this was a big part of his life, that is if you paid attention to the actions of the man himself. God and sports, and that old question: Why do many journalists ignore the faith component in the lives of some sports heroes and celebrities?