I was at the HOF induction ceremony for Reggie Jackson a few weeks later. Alongside the other Hall of Famers, Don Drysdale's widow was there in his place. I remember the crowd gasped when her name was announced.
I was watching the White Sox game when Ken Harrelson made the announcement to Chicago fans. His voice was cracking, I had never heard him so emotional. Don and Hawk were such a great announcing team and Don was very passionate about the White Sox, even as a Dodger lifer. I happened to run into him under the stands at old Comiskey, what a large and imposing figure he was but a genuinely nice man R.I.P. Double D.
I remember seeing that July 1993 game on KTLA that year(it was the first year of Dodger baseball on KTLA, after the Dodgers left KTTV Ch.11 in 1992, after 34 years, 35 consecutive seasons of Dodger broadcasts) and I was as stunned as everyone else, since Don was a Dodger legend and local hero from Van Nuys, California; Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell lived in Van Nuys in their years before films made them famous.
Hawk Harrelson was cracking you can tell how stunned, shocked & crushed he was. Hawk, Don Drysdale & Bob Uecker all 3 of those guys had a tight relationship. Uecker & Don on ABC, Hawk & Drysdale worked together in the booth as well & I know Uecker made the trip to Chicago on the Southside during Hawks final season broadcasting White Sox games when Brewers went in there for a weekend series.
I guess Vin Scully was calling part of this game knowing what had happened. He and his crew waited until his wife, Ann Meyers Drysdale was notified first. Appropriately so. Sad to hear
Interesting how grief can strike people in very different ways. Vin must have felt a tremendous amount of pain during all of this, but still made the announcement with the utmost tact. He made a very nice tribute here, but his voice sounds like this was just a regular announcement. At the same time, with at little as he said, and has bluntly as he said it, you could hear more of the emotion in Hawk's voice. Obviously, both of them felt something, but the different expressions in the way each man said it is very intriguing to maybe the psychology of the situation.
Scully had already been aware for several hours by the time he broke the news. But Hawk apparently was receiving the news right then and there during the broadcast and thus hadn't had time to gather himself.
crazy it took Don like 8 years to be voted into the HOF.....had a ERA under 3.00.....50 shutouts.....to be voted into the hall up until maybe 2000 you had to almost open up your veins and bleed out to be voted in 1st or 2nd year....some of the guys that were voted in their first year with 75 to 80 percent of the votes even were insane where today they would be at 98 percent plus....must have been a lot of really mean old WWII era type writers doing the voting.....no free lunch with those writers back then...
My father was the one who had to go identify the body, as the visiting clubhouse manager, and long time friend of the Dodgersw Familly. I remember this day like it was yesterday
Vin Scully passed this past Tuesday and to hear this broadcast which to me brings back memories which none of us will ever hear the voice like Vin Scully again among the great broadcasters in baseball.
crazy it took Don like 8 years to be voted into the HOF.....had a ERA under 3.00.....50 shutouts.....to be voted into the hall up until maybe 2000 you had to almost open up your veins and bleed out to be voted in 1st or 2nd year....some of the guys that were voted in their first year with 75 to 80 percent of the votes even were insane where today they would be at 98 percent plus....must have been a lot of really mean old WWII era type writers doing the voting.....no free lunch with those writers back then...
Speaking of losing it, it was obvious that Hawk was having a bad time with the whole series of events (getting the news and then having to talk about it), and I felt bad for him. You could hear in his voice how upset he was. :(
Amazing that Vin knew before the game and still kept his composure the first two innings before finally making the announcement. Speaks to his professionalism
@@VideoMan20111 Actually, that was the EIGHTH inning. He and Ross Porter both knew and wouldn't say anything until Drysdale's wife had been reached. It WAS incredible, and I'd add Ross Porter has never gotten the credit he deserved for HIS professionalism amid that horrible news.
@@storyofcory And it was just a week earlier that DD's former teammate, Roy Campanella, died of a heart attack at the age of 71. Drysdale's death coincided with the the death of Curly Joe DeRita of the Three Stooges fame, who died of pneumonia that same day at the age 83, nine days shy of his 84th birthday.
My eight-year-old son and I were listening to the game on the radio the day that Vin Scully announced Don Drysdales passing. We both just broke down crying . He and I loved listening to every game together. For me still, it was just like yesterday.
I will never, ever, ever, ever forget seeing this live. Can you imagine what it must've felt like to be Vin Scully that night, making this announcement? He has my respect for keeping it together. Drysdale wasn't just a great announcer, he was one of the greatest players to ever adorn a Dodger jersey.
Even harder than you imagine ... They had told him before this ... But he had to say nothing because they wanted to make sure the family was notified first and release it officially to the new outlet before they would let Vin say anything ... So he's not just hearing about it now ... He had to hold in his emotions while announcing the game until they gave him the OK ...
I was at the Hostel on Union Square in San Francisco, listening to the Giants radio broadcast as I cleaned up my dinner dishes. The announcer: "Oh no, can this be true....a report has Don Drysdale dead of a heart attack....." I went around the block to Lefty O'Doul's tavern to watch the various sports reports of the event. A sad night.
Will never forget this….. Went to the Anaheim Convention Ctr for the card show that day .... my brother bought a signed Drysdale ball, we saw Sandy Koufax and bought his autograph , then driving home listening to the game on the radio heard Vin say that Drysdale had passed away.
Everybody has heard Vin Scully & Jack Buck calls of Kirk Gibson’s HR in the 1988 World Series. Vinny did the TV, Jack did national radio, but Don was doing the play-by-play for local radio. Find it on the net. Great call.
crazy it took Don like 8 years to be voted into the HOF.....had a ERA under 3.00.....50 shutouts.....to be voted into the hall up until maybe 2000 you had to almost open up your veins and bleed out to be voted in 1st or 2nd year....some of the guys that were voted in their first year with 75 to 80 percent of the votes even were insane where today they would be at 98 percent plus....must have been a lot of really mean old WWII era type writers doing the voting.....no free lunch with those writers back then...
And he held it together calling the game for a few innings knowing that Don Drysdale had passed but waited to announce it until his family was notified. This is just how classy that Vin Scully and the Dodger organization are. Once Drysdale family was notified then they announced it on air
I remember this vividly. My Dad worked with D. Drysdale's Dad. They both worked for the Bell System. Mr. Drysdale (Scott) had seats on the club level and was gracious enough to let us have them when he wasn't attending. Right down the way from Vin Scully's booth. My brother and I would make sure to say hi to Mr. Scully and he always returned the hello...even though he had no idea who we were. Also, Don Drysdale was my brother's hero and he invited us over to his home then in Hidden Hills Ca. for his birthday. That is what kind of folks the Drysdales were. Salts of the Earth. R.I.P. big D.
I had the pleasure of working in the same press box with Don Drysdale in July 1981, when he and Bob Starr came up to Edmonton with the Dodgers' AAA team, the Salt Lake City Gulls, to broadcast a series between the Gulls and the Edmonton Trappers during the major league players' strike. Renfrew Park was a bandbox, and the press box was less than luxurious and barely had enough room for everyone. One might expect the visitors from Los Angeles to put on airs and be demanding, but that wasn't the case at all. They were very classy and understanding, and Don obliged with autographs and was complimentary toward the ballpark and the city on the air. They occupied the space usually taken by the visiting team's broadcaster, who was forced into a small space next to me. The voice of the Gulls was a nice young man named Rory Markas, who went on to better things.
@@orbyfan As a kid, I was at a Dodger game when Don Drysdale was pitching. We were sitting on the third base side. A paper airplane was thrown from above and circled right down to the mound! The Big D eyed the runner on first pitching from the stretch, and the plane landed right behind him. He saw it but tried to ignore the plane. After what seemed like minutes(but was a couple of seconds) he broke off of the rubber and called time. Bent over picked it up and stuffed it in his back pocket. Then blew a fastball past the hitter.
This has zip to do with baseball or Don Drysdale, but I have a friend who actually got to see Ronnie Van Zant perform in concert before he died in that awful plane crash. I'm not sure if you even like Lynyrd Skynyrd or not, but I certainly do. I would've given my left nut to see that show, or any show with RVZ singing. Of course, he died almost a decade before i was born sooo.... 😲🔫 🎶🎶♪♪♫♫♬♬🎶🎶🎤🎸 Anyway, have an awesome day! Or night! Or morning! Or afternoon!! Peace Out ☮ Brudder!! Hey, gimme a call, 📞 we'll hang out! ☎☏ 😆😂😄😃😎😀😆
I was watching the Chicago White Sox game against the Baltimore Orioles in 1993, and Ken Harrelson was completely choked up with emotion trying to make the announcement.
Yup he & Drysdale we’re pretty tight he told stories about his own temper Hawk did about drinking & ending up in fights. He said if not for his wife he probably would be dead cause of the night in & out drinking that players do he said Drysdale was a bad ass would get in those same type bar fights that Hawk did himself.
Vin was told just before the start of the broadcast, but had to wait until Anne Meyers Drysdale was notified before he could announce it. He had to go through several innings (7 or 8, I believe) without mentioning why Don was no there with him. It was terribly painful waiting for the word that she had been notified.
crazy it took Don like 8 years to be voted into the HOF.....had a ERA under 3.00.....50 shutouts.....to be voted into the hall up until maybe 2000 you had to almost open up your veins and bleed out to be voted in 1st or 2nd year....some of the guys that were voted in their first year with 75 to 80 percent of the votes even were insane where today they would be at 98 percent plus....must have been a lot of really mean old WWII era type writers doing the voting.....no free lunch with those writers back then...
I know that I'm speculating, but I wonder if Don Drysdale's height and size was a contributing factor in his heart issues later in life? Don Drysdale was listed as being 6'6 and weighing (at least during his playing career) 216 pounds. There are numerous studies online that discuss the likely link between a man's height and cardiovascular disease. www.ahajournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1161/01.CIR.88.4.1437, www.news-medical.net/news/20191113/Tall-people-more-likely-to-develop-atrial-fibrillation.aspx, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/11/191113092606.htm
I was listening to the radio broadcast in the car. My wife and I noticed that Ross Porter sounded really off as he was calling the game. Eventually he was cleared to make the announcement and we understood. Sad, sad day.
I really, really, really wish I could find audio/video of Ross Porter's announcement. I've tried looking 16 different ways, and I still can't find anything.
@@storyofcory When Vin made the announcement, they simulcast it, so he was the one who did it. When he finished, he and Ross talked for a couple of minutes and then went back to it. A couple of minutes later there was a time out--a trip to the mound, I think--and it was quiet on radio for a moment, and Ross paused and said something like, "Oh, gee." That night, Big D would have opened the radio side with the lineups and then turned it over to Ross. I was listening and heard, "Hi, everybody, this is Ross Porter (long pause) along with Vin Scully and Don Drysdale." They knew, but they wouldn't say anything until the Dodgers found Ann Meyers Drysdale, who was out shopping with Big D's daughter from his first marriage, Kelly.
Big D was my all time Dodgers hero. “The Big Warrior “, “The Big Stopper “. I was there the night he broke the consecutive scoreless innings streak in June of 1968 against the Philies. I’ll never forget that night! I was heartbroken when he had to hang them up in August of 1969. RIP BIG D #53!!!!!
1962 was one of my favorite Dodger years. Twin D went 25-9 (won the Cy Young when only one was awarded) . Tommie Davis won a Batting Title @ .346 with over 150 RBIS. And Maury Wills stole 104 bases and was NL MVP. If Koufax hadnt got hurt there would have been no playoff against SF and they would have beaten NY back to back (62-63).
I was sitting in the stands with my then 5 year old son when the announcement came over the speaker of the news that he passed away. We left shortly afterwards to drive back to the states in what turned out to be a 1-0 Dodger win in 11 innings.
I remember this vividly. It was A Sunday game in Montreal, being broadcast locally on Fox KTTV 11 in Los Angeles. As Vin Scully gave the announcement, it was a surreal moment, as if time had stood still for the moment as the announcement sunk in. I can't believe it's been almost 30 years.
crazy it took Don like 8 years to be voted into the HOF.....had a ERA under 3.00.....50 shutouts.....to be voted into the hall up until maybe 2000 you had to almost open up your veins and bleed out to be voted in 1st or 2nd year....some of the guys that were voted in their first year with 75 to 80 percent of the votes even were insane where today they would be at 98 percent plus....must have been a lot of really mean old WWII era type writers doing the voting.....no free lunch with those writers back then...
I remember the day when before the Cubs-Cardinals game in 2002, the said today's game was cancelled due to the death of Cardinal pitcher Darryl Kile,who was found in his hotel room, dead.
I remember watching DD pitch with Vin Scully calling play by play on KTLA. Then years later when Don was doing commentary for the Angels, we use to get tickets that got us close enough to the old announcers booth at Anaheim Stadium so we could see Don talking as we listened to the broadcast on the radio. Damn he was great.
crazy it took Don like 8 years to be voted into the HOF.....had a ERA under 3.00.....50 shutouts.....to be voted into the hall up until maybe 2000 you had to almost open up your veins and bleed out to be voted in 1st or 2nd year....some of the guys that were voted in their first year with 75 to 80 percent of the votes even were insane where today they would be at 98 percent plus....must have been a lot of really mean old WWII era type writers doing the voting.....no free lunch with those writers back then...
Vin did his best to keep composed while reading about Drysdale's passing. I commend him for holding it together but i know he had lots of emotion inside of him that night. I was watching that Sox/Os game with Hawk Harrelson calling it that same night. And no doubt about it, the news of Drysdale's death really hit him hard. His voice changed and even though the video didn't show it, but he did cry a little during the announcement. RIP, "Double D" (as Hawk Harrelson used to call him)
I'm not sure when it debuted, but Don did open a sports bar/restaurant on the Big Island in Kailua-Kona. I'm not finding a lot of information on it, but it was called Drysdale's 2, which implies there was a Drysdale's 1 ... likely in California? I found one story online that said Drysdale's 2 closed, but then I just went on his eldest daughter Kelly's Facebook page and it looks like there is a Drysdale's Club 53 in operation in Kailua-Kona.
@@Zobin211 OK thanks. After reading this info you shared, I remembered that the restaurant I went to back in 1991 was called "Drysdale's Club 53"!!!! In Kailua-Kona. It was a great location and had good food and drink. Thank-you!
Very sad. I'm glad they were still using the term "dead" on those days. Now it's PC such as "passed" or "passed away," or some other seemingly less severe term. I'm sorry for Don's family, but he did indeed "die." He didn't pass, pass away, shuffle off this mortal coil, move to the horizontal phone booth, or whichever terms people use now.
That was a terrible thing to do to Vin Scully. I know he's most skilled and professional baseball announcer there ever was, but you can't make someone report the death of your friend on live TV.
Vin Scully knew about Drysdale death for a few innings but did not report anything until the Drysdale family was notified about what had happened. Vin Scully always a classy person did not want the family to know about it through the television and when they notified Scully that the family was notified then he told the audience what had happened.
