The End of an Era

There are two notable stories, each of which marks the end of an era. Together they’re even more dramatic.

When I was a kid, the voice of the St. Louis Cardinal baseball team was Harry Caray. His voice was the sound of summertime. And Vin Scully was the voice of the Dodgers. After 67 years Vin Scully has retired:

LOS ANGELES — After 67 years, Los Angeles wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Vin Scully.

With the Colorado Rockies holding a 3-2 lead with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, Corey Seager, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 22-year-old shortstop, hit a home run to right field to tie the game and extend the final home game for the 88-year-old announcer one more inning.

Sunday was the final game Scully will broadcast from Dodger Stadium as he nears the end of a 67-year career that began in 1950, when the Dodgers were in Brooklyn, and spanned nearly seven decades.

“And wouldn’t you know we’d go extra innings,” Scully said after Seager’s home run. “Of course, you didn’t have anything better to do, anyway.”

With two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning, Charlie Culberson homered on a fly ball to left field to give the Dodgers a 4-3 victory and their fourth straight National League West title, a franchise first, in Scully’s final game behind the microphone at Dodger Stadium.

“The Dodgers have clinched the division,” Scully said on the call. “And will celebrate on schedule.”

It was a storybook moment in a storybook career for Scully, who was given a standing ovation after the game from the crowd and the players, who took off their championship hats and waved them at a smiling Scully up in the broadcast booth.

Angelenos were suitably emotional about the farewell. Most of them don’t remember a time when Vin Scully wasn’t the voice of the Dodgers.

And the great golfer Arnold Palmer has died:

Golfing legend Arnold Palmer died Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh, his longtime spokesman and friend Doc Giffin told ESPN. Palmer was 87.

“I’m just so heartbroken about it,” Giffin said. “As much as Arnold Palmer meant to the world, he meant that much and more to me.”

According to his longtime agent, Alastair Johnston, Palmer died of complications from heart problems. Johnston said Palmer was admitted to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Presbyterian on Thursday for some cardiovascular work and weakened over the past few days.

Palmer, who was nicknamed “The King,” won seven major championships during his professional career, which spanned more than five decades. He won the Masters four times, The Open twice and the U.S. Open once.

It’s hard to overestimate Mr. Palmer’s importance to the game of golf and his influence over it. He was really the first golfing superstar, dominating the game for a decade. Not only did he popularize and democratize the game of golf, he changed the business of golf in his involvement in sports marketing.

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    In central Florida, Palmer is remembered for his charitable work. A children’s hospital is named after him, and a hospital for expectant mothers in newborns is named for his first wife. (They were married for decades before she died.)

    We’ve got a very large number of very famous athletes that live here, or have. Shaq, Tiger & Ken Griffey, Jr. have been amongst them, as have a large number of others from many sports. The rest of them combined have done as much for the area as Palmer did.

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