On April 26, 2008, Los Angeles Dodgers legendary broadcaster Vin Scully delivered the commencement speech at Pepperdine University and received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree, the institution’s highest honor.
Late Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, who also received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Pepperdine in 1996, was on hand to introduce Scully before he gave the speech to Seaver College, Pepperdine’s school of letters, arts and sciences.
In his address, Scully discussed a number of topics including when he first decided he wanted to be a sports announcer all the way back at the age of eight years old. Scully also shared a story about a childhood friend of his who hit a home run as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals when he was broadcasting a Dodgers game in 1952.
That was towards the start of what ended up being a 67-year career as the primary broadcaster of the Dodgers, beginning in 1950 when the team still played in Brooklyn and ending at the conclusion of the 2016 season.
Scully received a number of honors throughout the course of his career, including the Ford Frick Award from the National Baseball Hall of Fame, a Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award for sportscasting and induction into the National Radio Hall of Fame.
He was also inducted into American Sportscasters Association Hall of Fame, the California Sports Hall of Fame and NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame. Scully additionally received a Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor given by the President of the United States, in 2016 and became the first non-player or manager inducted into the Dodger Stadium Ring of Honor in 2017.
While all of those achievements are well-deserved, the honorary doctorate from Pepperdine has to be high on Scully’s list on everything he has accomplished throughout the course of his illustrious career.
Scully receives Lifetime Achievement Award
In April 2022, Scully was named the second ever recipient of the annual Lifetime Achievement Award presented by Baseball Digest. The publication presented their inaugural honor to Willie Mays in 2021.
The Baseball Digest Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes a living individual whose career has been spent in or around Major League Baseball and who has made significant contributions to the national game.
“I think, first of all, any award that’s already been won by Willie Mays, who certainly was one of my favorite players and one for whom I had great respect, is an honor,” Scully said of receiving Baseball Digest’s 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award.
“It’s an honor to even have my name linked with his in some way. I was honored, delighted and surprised that I turned out to be the second winner of Baseball Digest’s Lifetime Achievement Award. I’m proud of it and humble at the same time.”
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