CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION
Senate Concurrent Resolution
No. 122
Introduced by Senators Durazo and Hertzberg
|
August 15, 2022 |
Relative to the Vin Scully Memorial Highway.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SCR 122, as introduced, Durazo.
Vin Scully Memorial Highway.
This measure would designate a specified portion of State Route 110 in the County of Los Angeles as the Vin Scully Memorial Highway. The measure would also request the Department of Transportation to determine the cost of appropriate signs showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering the cost, to erect those signs.
Digest Key
Fiscal Committee:
YES WHEREAS, Vincent Edward “Vin” Scully, born on November 29, 1927, was an American sportscaster, best known as the play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Dodgers Major League baseball team; and
WHEREAS, He was with the team since its days in Brooklyn, New York. His 67 seasons with the Dodgers, from 1950 to 2016, are the longest time any broadcaster has been with a single team in professional sports history; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Scully was known for his dulcet voice, lyrically descriptive style, and signature introduction to Dodgers games: “It’s time for Dodgers baseball! Hi everybody, and a very pleasant good (day/evening) to you, wherever you may be;” and
WHEREAS, Mr. Scully’s remarkable ability to create such vividly accurate and colorful descriptions of the play of the game became legendary. Others have likened his broadcast skills as being able to see it on the radio; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Scully accompanied the Dodgers from Brooklyn to their new location in Los Angeles beginning with the 1958 baseball season, and quickly became popular in southern California. During the Dodgers’ first four seasons in Los Angeles, the fans had difficulty following the action in the very large Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and it soon became common for them to bring transistor radios to the games to hear Mr. Scully and partner Jerry Doggett describe the action. This practice continued even after the team moved to the much smaller Dodger Stadium for the 1962 baseball season. Radio and television engineers often had difficulty compensating for the sound of Mr. Scully’s play-by-play reverberating through the stands at Dodgers home games; and
WHEREAS, In 1964, the New York Yankees offered Mr. Scully the opportunity to succeed Mel Allen as their lead play-by-play announcer. Mr. Scully chose to remain with the Dodgers, and his popularity in Los Angeles had become such that in 1976 Dodgers fans voted him the “most memorable personality” in the history of the franchise; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Scully established a bond with his listeners that was deep, with a strong sense of community, so that when he said on air to his listeners that “We’ve been friends long enough ... ” it was truly an accurate and heartfelt statement; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Scully will be long known as being legendary for his abilities to bring to Californians the history, color, and passion for baseball and for his caring for others. It is altogether fitting to officially name State Route 110 adjacent to Dodger Stadium as the Vin Scully Memorial Highway; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring, That, in light of Vin Scully’s remarkable and unprecedented career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Major League Baseball, and millions of fans of baseball, the Legislature hereby designates the portion of State Route 110, located between Interstate 5 and United States Highway 101 in the County of Los Angeles as the Vin Scully Memorial Highway; and be it further
Resolved, That the Department of Transportation is requested to determine the cost of appropriate signs consistent with the signing requirements for the state highway system showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources sufficient to cover the cost, to erect those signs; and be it further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the Director of Transportation and to the author for appropriate distribution.