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Your votes are in: The 20 greatest sports figures in L.A. history

-- Houston Mitchell

Photo: Sandy Koufax in 1966. Credit: Malcolm Emmons / US Presswire

Friday, November 4, 2011

Greatest sports figures in L.A. history No. 3: Vin Scully

Continuing our countdown of the 20 greatest figures in L.A. sports history, as chosen in voting by our online readers, with No. 3, Vin Scully.

No. 3 Vin Scully (263 first-place votes, 7,141 points)

Vin Scully is the greatest baseball broadcaster who ever lived. What else needs to be said? Even during a Dodgers season that was overshadowed by the Frank and Jamie McCourt news, you knew that it would all melt away when you turned on the TV and heard Scully's voice.

Scully has been calling Dodgers games for an amazing 61 years. In 2010, the American Sportscasters Assn. put his name atop the list of the 50 greatest to ever sit behind a microphone. He was elected to the baseball Hall of Fame in 1982.

Scully joined Hall of Fame announcer Red Barber and Connie Desmond as part of the Brooklyn Dodgers' broadcast team in 1950, just a year after graduating from Fordham University. To put his longevity in different terms, when he began, gasoline cost 27 cents a gallon, a postage stamp was just three cents and the minimum wage was five cents per hour.

INTERACTIVE: Vin Scully's Hollywood Star Walk profile

In 1953, Scully, then 25, became the youngest person to broadcast a World Series game.

Perhaps his best-known call was of Kirk Gibson's home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series.

"High fly ball into right field, she is gone," Scully said before remaining silent for more than a minute. "In a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened."

Scully's voice is often dubbed the "soundtrack to summer" in Los Angeles, where generations of fans have grown up listening to him call Dodger games. In 2012, he will continue to call all Dodger home games and the club's road games against NL West and AL West opponents. While Scully handles all nine innings of the team's television broadcasts, the first three innings of each of his games is simulcast on radio.

On a personal note, I was fortunate enough to meet Scully one time. There is almost no greater thrill in life than hearing Vin Scully say your name, which he did when I was introduced to him.

His broadcasting highlights include:

Three perfect games (Don Larsen in 1956, Sandy Koufax in 1965 and Dennis Martinez in 1991) and 19 no-hitters.

Johnny Podres' shutout of the Yankees in Game 7 of the 1955 World Series, which gave the Dodgers their first World Series title.

The Dodgers' first game in Los Angeles at the Coliseum on April 18, 1958.

The Dodgers-Yankees exhibition game on May 7, 1959 that honored Roy Campanella before a then-Major League record 93,103 fans at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

The Dodgers' playoff win over the Milwaukee Braves and World Series victory over the Chicago White Sox in 1959, which gave them their second World Series title; and other World Series title seasons in Los Angeles in 1963, 1965, 1981 and 1988.

Hank Aaron's 715th career home run, which broke Babe Ruth's major league record, at Atlanta's Fulton County Stadium on April 8, 1974.

The dramatic 10th inning of Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, where Bill Buckner's error allowed the Mets to force Game 7.

Other awards include:

Named the Most Memorable Personality in L.A. Dodger history by Dodger fans in 1976.

Had his star placed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1982.

Named the country's Outstanding Sportscaster four times and California Sportscaster of the Year 29 times by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Assn.

Recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Sports Emmy Award in 1996 for his "distinguished and outstanding" work.

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No. 4: John Wooden

No. 5: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

No. 6: Jerry West

No. 7: Chick Hearn

No. 8: Kobe Bryant

No. 9: Fernando Valenzuela

No. 10: Jackie Robinson

Your votes are in: The 20 greatest sports figures in L.A. history

-- Houston Mitchell

Photo: Vin Scully. Credit: Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Frank McCourt: Fans speak out on plan to sell the Dodgers

In case you went to bed early and missed the news or, for some reason, you don't read our Dodgers blog, you may not know that Frank McCourt has agreed to sell the Dodgers.

But a lot of your fellow Dodgers fans have chimed in already with their thoughts. A sampling is below. What do you think? Let us know.

slomo1 at 7:14 AM said: Can't you hear "Dandy Don" Meredith now singing, "Turn out the lights, the party's over"...! And all of Los Angeles said, "AMEN!"

eas211 at 7:13 AM said: What I would like to see, once this is done, or even maybe once bids have been received, is for Frank to hold a press conference and hear what he has to say. Hopefully now that it is over for him he will somehow be honest and let everyone know just exactly what he was thinking. i guess maybe i'm looking for a mea culpa?

DontEatTheYellowSnow at 6:30 AM said: Frank is not selling because it's the 'right' thing to do, Frank is selling because he's back so far into the proverbal corner, he honestly has no way out… Bring on Mark Cuban.

California Sun at 5:42 AM said: Mccourt should look back, and realize, he blew it. He could have lived well and built a strong franchise. Instead he trashed the brand, and he will be lucky to leave with anything.

tede511 at 11:59 PM: Yes, there is a Santa Claus.

RELATED:

Frank McCourt agrees to sell Dodgers

Bill Plaschke: Frank McCourt's selling the Dodgers? Get outta town!

Mark Cuban offered to buy Dodgers, but price was too high

Matt Kemp leads trio of Dodgers awarded Gold Gloves

--Houston Mitchell

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Greatest sports figures in L.A. history, No. 9: Fernando Valenzuela

Continuing our countdown of the 20 greatest figures in L.A. sports history, as chosen in voting by our online readers, with No. 9, Fernando Valenzuela.

No. 9 Fernando Valenzuela (53 first-place votes, 1,783 points)

Fernandomania. That's all you have to say to Dodgers fans to bring a smile to their face as they remember the glory days of Fernando Valenzuela.

Fernandomania was born in 1981, when Valenzuela started the season 8-0 with five shutouts and an earned-run average of 0.50. He became a sensation with the fans, drawing sellout crowds at Dodger Stadium, with ticket sales increasing whenever he pitched in other stadiums too, as fans wanted a glimpse of his unusual delivery, with his eyes looking skyward before delivering the ball to the plate. Valenzuela finished 1981 with a 13-7 record and a 2.48 ERA, leading all pitchers in complete games (11), shutouts (eight), innings pitched (192.1) and strikeouts (180). Valenzuela pitched a complete Game 3 of the World Series against the New York Yankees and helped the Dodgers win their first World Series title since 1965. After the season, he was named rookie of the year and won the Cy Young Award, still the only person to accomplish win both in the same year.

Valenzuela was the ace of the Dodgers staff from 1981 to 1987, with his best season coming in 1986, when he finished 21-11 with a 3.14 ERA and led the league in wins, complete games and innings pitched, finishing second in Cy Young Award voting to Mike Scott of the Houston Astros.

At the 1986 All-Star Game, Valenzuela made history by striking out five consecutive American League batters, tying a record set by Carl Hubbell in 1934.

In 1988, Valenzuela won just five games and missed much of the season. He went 10-13 in 1989 and 13-13 in 1990, which was the season of his last great moment, when on June 29, 1990, he threw a no-hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Valenzuela was released by the Dodgers just before the 1991 season. He played part of that season with the Angels and bounced around baseball until retiring after the 1997 season with a career mark of 173-153.

He is currently a member of the Dodgers' Spanish-language broadcast team.

RELATED:

No. 10: Jackie Robinson

Your votes are in: The 20 greatest sports figures in L.A. history

-- Houston Mitchell

Photo: Fernando Valenzuela with the Dodgers in 1981. Credit: Los Angeles Times

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Greatest sports figures in L.A. history, No. 10: Jackie Robinson

Continuing our countdown of the 20 greatest figures in L.A. sports history, as chosen in voting by our online readers, with No. 10, Jackie Robinson.

No. 10 Jackie Robinson (21 first-place votes, 1,702 points)

It was interesting to watch the votes come in for Jackie Robinson, particularly through the comments on our original blog post asking for votes. As soon as someone would vote for Robinson, it seemed someone else would chime in, chastising the person for not realizing Robinson never played with the Dodgers in L.A. Which just goes to show how a man can be remembered for one thing almost to the exclusion of everything else. When you think Jackie Robinson, you think "broke the color barrier in baseball" and have to be reminded of his outstanding legacy as one of the greatest athletes in UCLA history.

Robinson was UCLA's first athlete to win varsity letters in four sports: baseball, basketball, football and track. He was one of four black players on the 1939 UCLA Bruins football team (Woody Strode, Kenny Washington and Ray Bartlett were the others).

In track and field, Robinson won the long jump at the 1940 NCAA men's outdoor track and field championship, jumping 24 feet, 10 1/2 inches.

In basketball, Robinson won two consecutive conference scoring titles.

He hit less than .200 with the Bruins baseball team, making baseball his worst sport at UCLA.

Robinson was also a standout athlete at Pasadena Muir High and Pasadena junior college.

Robinson's life after UCLA could fill several books. He is a more-than-worthy addition to this list. As former UCLA chancellor Norm Abrams once said: "He was the first athlete in UCLA history to letter in four sports in the same year, but it is his abiding dignity and unshakable conviction that we most appreciate and that made him a true champion. The entire Bruin family treasures his legacy."

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Your votes are in: The 20 greatest sports figures in L.A. history

-- Houston Mitchell

Photo: Jackie Robinson at UCLA. Credit: Los Angeles Times

Did Topps turn down a deal on Maury Wills because he was such a bad prospect?

BASEBALL URBAN LEGEND: Maury Wills was such a longshot to make it in the Major Leagues that Topps turned down the opportunity to sign him to a $5 baseball card contract.

Maury Wills is a true Los Angeles Dodgers legend. The Dodgers won their first championship in Los Angeles in Wills' first season and went on to win two more titles during his first tenure with the team (1959-1966), with Wills being the team captain from 1963-1966. Wills made the All Star Game in five separate seasons and received the very first All Star Game Most Valuable Player Award ever in 1962! That same season, Wills beat out Willie Mays to win the National League Most Valuable Player Award. In 1962, Wills also won his second Gold Glove at shortstop and set a new Modern Era (post-1900) Major League record for the most stolen bases in a single season with 104 (the first player ever to steal over 100 bases in the Modern Era). Wills' revival of the stolen base is probably his greatest legacy. Before he stole 50 bases in 1960, no National Leaguer had stolen 50 bases since 1923! Players like Lou Brock, Rickey Henderson and Vince Coleman were all inspired by Wills. However, while Wills was setting records and showing up on Most Valuable Player ballots there was one place he was conspicuously absent - packs of Topps baseball cards! Wills did not have a Topps baseball card until 1967, nearly a decade into his Major League career! For a card company that prided itself on having basically every Major Leaguer in the game, Wills was a notable exception. What makes it even more notable is why Topps did not have a Maury Wills card. You see, Topps did not feel Wills was worth paying the $5 it would have taken to sign to a baseball card contract!

Read on to see how such a strange occurrence could have taken place!

Monday, October 24, 2011

Greatest sports figures in L.A. history, No. 11: Tommy Lasorda

Continuing our countdown of the 20 greatest figures in L.A. sports history, as chosen in voting by our online readers, with No. 11, Tommy Lasorda.

No. 11 Tommy Lasorda (39 first-place votes, 1,641 points)

There have been few figures in L.A. sports history who have been as larger-than-life as former Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda. You either love him or love to hate him, but it's almost guaranteed that everyone has some sort of opinion.

After serving four seasons as third-base coach, Lasorda became the Dodgers manager on Sept. 29, 1976, upon the retirement of the legendary Walter Alston. All Lasorda did in his 20 years as manager was win 1,599 games, two World Series championships (1981 and 1988), four National League pennants (1977, 78, 81 and 88) and seven division titles (1977, 78, 81, 83, 85, 88, 95). The Dodgers also led the division when the rest of the 1994 season was canceled because of a labor dispute.

His final game was a 4-3 victory over the Houston Astros on June 23, 1996. The following day he drove himself to the hospital complaining of abdominal pains, and in fact he was having a heart attack. He officially retired on July 29, 1996. His 1,599 career wins rank 16th in MLB history.

He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997 in his first year of eligibility and the Dodgers retired his uniform number, 2, on Aug. 15, 1997.

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Your votes are in: The 20 greatest sports figures in L.A. history

--Houston Mitchell

Photo: Tommy Lasorda looks on from the dugout as he serves as an honorary coach during the game against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium on Sept. 22, 2011. Credit: Jeff Gross / Getty Images.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Greatest sports figures in L.A. history No. 14: Don Drysdale

Continuing our countdown of the 20 greatest figures in L.A. sports history with No. 14, Don Drysdale.

No. 14 Don Drysdale (no first-place votes, 1,168 points)

Big D was one of the best pitchers in baseball during his time with the Dodgers. A larger-than-life character, not only was Drysdale notorious for knocking hitters down with pitches (his 154 hit batsmen remains the modern NL record), he later became an actor and an excellent baseball broadcaster.

Career highlights: In 1962, Drysdale won 25 games and the Cy Young Award. In 1965, he was the Dodgers' only .300 hitter and tied the National League record for home runs by a pitcher with seven. (The person whose record he tied? Don Drysdale.) In 1968, he set major league records with six consecutive shutouts and 58 consecutive scoreless innings (a record later broken by fellow Dodger Orel Hershiser in 1988).

Drysdale was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984, and had his number 53 retired by the Dodgers the same year.

Don Drysdale retired in midseason in 1969 because of a shoulder injury. He segued into acting and broadcasting, including a memorable appearance on "The Brady Bunch." He became a broadcaster for not just the Dodgers (from 1988-1993), but also the Angels from 1973-79 and 1981.

On July 3, 1993, while working as a Dodgers broadcaster in Montreal, the 56-year-old Drysdale suffered a heart attack and died.

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