Pull Up a Chair: The Vin Scully Story

This is a must for any Dodger fan! If you have sat in Dodger stadium and listened to the remarkable voice of Vin Scully telling his humorous stories while doing play-by-play on your transistor radio then you need to read his story. So, "pull up a chair" and enjoy!

No one is more qualified than Curt Smith to write a biography of legendary broadcaster Vin Scully. Smith has been writing about baseball broadcasters almost as long as Scully has been behind the microphone. This book succeeds, however, not only because of Smith's familiarity with his subject but because of Smith's extensive interviews and research. By nature, an unauthorized biography is a much harder book to write than either an autobiography or authorized biography. The writer is expected to tell the full, complete story. Sometimes an interview request is turned down because of a misguided idea that the writer is trying to fulfill an agenda. Not all unauthorized biographies are negative, however, and that certainly is the case with this book. I never will forget driving in a car during an All-Star game broadcast.Scully was the broadcaster. One play in particular stood out ... a ground ball to second which was dropped for an error. Scully's description was that the fielder "fights it to a draw." I know I received much more detail of what was happening in the game listening to Scully than I would have if I had been watching the game on television. I have been a fan of Scully's ever since, almost as long as I have been a fan of Curt Smith.

As a kid growing up in St Louis during the Harry Caray years, which ended after the 1969 season; fans were treated to the voice of Jack Buck at his peak, and even Mike Shannon developed from a marble mouthed goofball into a very savvy and humorous analyst of the game, once he got the marbles out of his mouth. However, as much as I loved listening to Jack Buck's familiar voice over the years, and his magical "That's a winner!" announcement at the successful conclusion to any Cards game, I've got to admit, the rival Dodgers' man in the booth, may be the best ever at his craft. Vin Scully's long career is chronicled by the elaborate style of Curt Smith, and I enjoyed every word. Scully's warm, down-home demeanor never gets old and his wonderful delivery and well-timed anecdotes are nothing short of marvelous. So friends, "pull up a chair" and read the story about a kid from Brooklyn who hung around for over 50 years to broadcast Dodger games, who became a part of baseball's glorious history; forever ingrained in the fabric of Americana.

I confess, I'm a Curt Smith fan and have read most of his books so, when I heard him on the radio talking about this book I had to get it. I'm only part way through it and it may be one of his best. I grew up the son of immigrant parents like Scully and dreamed of being a baseball player or announcer. So, I have loved reading about his journey from being just a kid in NY to working in Ebbets Field, Dodger Stadium and the "Game of the Week". With all the steroids, money and egos ruling baseball today, it's nice to sit back and read a great book about someone who is authentic and professional and reminds me of what baseball was and could be again.

Finally! I was afraid Vin Scully would retire without anyone ever writing down all the great stories of his career in the broadcast booth. Curt Smith is indisputably the leading authority on baseball broadcast history and, in his book, "Voices of Summer", he ranked Vin Scully as the #1 broadcaster of all time. So, who better to write the first book about him? "Pull Up a Chair" appears to be painstaking researched and expresses Smith's great affection for both Scully's career and his place in baseball history. The book draws on conversations Smith has had with Vin and others over the years, like any biography does, and it gives you a get a real sense of what makes Scully a great professional - disciplined, literate and superb at spinning stories - rare qualities in broadcasters these days. It even has a chapter on the lessons aspiring broadcasters can learn from Vin. Baseball just lost Harry Kalas and, unfortunately, we won't always Vin Scully around. But this book can give the next generation of Dodger and baseball fans a glimpse of why we all love Vinnie and what makes him worthy of being called #1.