Vin Scully, We Feel Your Pain!

By now, we all know that Vin Scully, the greatest baseball broadcaster of all-time, experienced the loss of his wife, Sandi. The photo of the couple below was taken a couple of years ago:

Sandra Hunt was married to Vin Scully for 48 years and at the age of 76, she was a beautiful, elegant woman, even as ALS ravaged her body. This is according to TMZ:

Vin and Sandi met in 1973 while she was working as an executive assistant for the owner of the L.A. Rams football team. Sandi has credited the team’s general counsel, Ed Hookstratten, for hooking them up.

“Unbeknownst to me, he told Vin about this young blonde he ought to check out,” Sandi told The NY Times … “And Vin told him, ‘I’m not in the business of checking out young blondes.'”

But, one thing led to another and they began dating soon after.

Sandra Scully died Sunday night at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. She had been fighting ALS, known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, for the last several years. The progressive nervous system disease affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, causing loss of muscle control.

“She is really inspirational,” Vin Scully told The Associated Press last August. “Her faith is extremely important and I think that’s a major reason she’s held up.”

In September of last year, Scully auctioned off years of his personal memorabilia, which raised over $2 million. He and his wife of 47 years donated a portion of the money to UCLA for ALS research.

Born Sandra Hunt on Dec. 27, 1944, in Cascade, Virginia, she married Vin Scully in November 1973. The couple had one daughter, Catherine, together. She had two children of her own from a previous marriage.

Not everyone knows what it feels like to have a wife die, but I do! I am happily re-married and life goes on. It happened 25 years ago when my oldest son was nine and he has never gotten over it (I have tried to “fix it” but I just can’t – only he can). I know what it is like to lose a wife… but not a mother.

Well, I guess I do know what it is like to lose a mother, but I was an adult in my 50’s, so there is that. My wife’s parents and my parents are all gone and my youngest son has never experienced having grandparents. Maybe that is why I cherish my six granddaughters so much.

The above photo is (from L to R), my oldest son, who was 1 then and is now 34; his deceased mother; and my 87-year-old ex-mother-in-law, who is still part of our life. I talk to her every week and she came to my wife’s and my wedding.

Life goes on. Yes, it does. Unless we get stuck in the past! But, sometimes we have to consider the past – we just don’t get stuck in it!

Vin Scully has experienced the deaths of two wives. In 1972, Vin Scully’s 35-year-old wife, Joan Crawford, died of an accidental medical overdose. They had been married for 15 years. Below is a photo of Joan and Vin in 1970:

As mentioned earlier, in 1973, he married Sandra Hunt, who had two children of her own, and they soon had another child together.

Scully’s eldest son, Michael, died in a helicopter crash at the age of 33 while working for the ARCO Transportation Company. He was inspecting oil pipelines for leaks near Fort Tejon, California in the immediate aftermath of the Northridge earthquake in January 1994.

Although Michael’s death still haunts him, Scully, a devout Roman Catholic, has said in numerous interviews that he credits his religious faith and being able to dive back into his work with helping him ease the burden and grief from losing his wife and son.  He has encouraged devotion to the Virgin Mary, saying, “Her prayers are more powerful than those of the rest of heaven combined. No one was closer or more devoted to Christ on earth, so it only makes sense to see the same thing in heaven. Now, the Blessed Virgin seeks to help her spiritual children get home to spend eternity with her Son.”

One of Walter O’Malley’s favorite times of the year was the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day at Dodgertown. The March 17 parties that he and his wife Kay hosted were legendary and are a piece of Dodger history. The holiday magically transformed Dodger Blue into Luck of the Irish green for a glorious day. Many dignitaries and other famous people were invited to the event, and of course, Vin and Sandy were there. This is a photo from the early 1980’s of Vin and Sandi Scully:

 In 2016, Scully narrated an audio recording of the Rosary for Catholic Athletes for Christ in which he recites the Rosary mysteries and leads a group of responders.

In November 2017, Scully stated that he would “never watch another NFL game again” due to some of the league’s players kneeling during the playing of the national anthem prior to games.

Scully has four children, two stepchildren, sixteen grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. Vin and his second wife Sandra were married for 48 years until Sandra’s death from ALS on January 4, 2021. ALS is a horrible disease. Interestingly, the new mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine platform offers a lot of hope in curing this disease.

GOD BLESS YOU, VIN! Our Prayers are with you.

I listened to you… when I could, but growing up in Ohio, I could not always get you. But as I entered adulthood I was able to listen to you much more, and I cherish those memories.

Cover Photo Credit: Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers