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April 18, 1950: Vin Scully’s First Game

Andy Saunders Andy Saunders

Published March 13, 2016 - 11:06 a.m. Modified March 13, 2016 - 11:30 a.m.

Current Champion

Nikolas Polsinelli, career statistics:
44 correct, 6 incorrect
2/2 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
35.96% in first on buzzer (41/114)
4/5 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $10,600)
1/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $17,500

To win:
3 games: 64.111%
4: 41.102%
5: 26.351%
6: 16.894%
7: 10.831%
Avg. streak: 3.786 games.
(Click Here for Methodology )

Upcoming Encore Presentations

October 3-4: S42 E175 (May 8, 2026)
October 10-11: S42 E176 (May 11, 2026)
(Source: Bell Fibe TV program guide)

All Time Winnings

All Time Jeopardy! Winnings, Regular Play Only:

1. Ken Jennings $2,520,700
2. James Holzhauer $2,462,216
3. Matt Amodio $1,518,601
4. Amy Schneider $1,382,800
5. Jamie Ding $882,605
6. Cris Pannullo $748,286
7. Mattea Roach $560,983
8. Jason Zuffranieri $532,496
9. Scott Riccardi $455,000
10. David Madden $430,400
11. Julia Collins $428,100
12. Matt Jackson $411,612
13. Austin Rogers $411,000
14. Ray Lalonde $386,400
15. Harrison Whitaker $373,999
16. Adriana Harmeyer $349,600
17. Caleb Groen $346,968
18. Adam Remsen $306,415
19. Ryan Long $299,400
20. Arthur Chu $297,200

All Time Jeopardy! Winnings, Including Tournaments (and Consolation Prizes):

1. Brad Rutter $4,968,436
2. Ken Jennings $4,372,700
3. James Holzhauer $3,614,216
4. Matt Amodio $1,964,601
5. Amy Schneider $1,864,800
6. Yogesh Raut $1,598,403
7. Victoria Groce $1,023,801
8. Mattea Roach $897,983
9. Jamie Ding $885,605
10. David Madden $785,733
11. Cris Pannullo $754,286
12. Roger Craig $706,200
13. Andrew He $684,365
14. Larissa Kelly $671,930
15. Matt Jackson $623,612
16. Jason Zuffranieri $549,496
17. Paolo Pasco $548,717
18. Scott Riccardi $533,000
19. Jerome Vered $499,102
20. Julia Collins $495,767
21. Austin Rogers $493,000
22. Juveria Zaheer $491,000
23. Ben Ingram $449,201
24. Adriana Harmeyer $446,600
25. Buzzy Cohen $441,603

My second book, “The Games That Changed Baseball: Milestones In Major League History”, is now available for pre-order from McFarland!

As part of this, I’m releasing the 18 unpublished chapters over the course of this spring and summer here on The Jeopardy! Fan.

In honour of this being Vin Scully’s final season as Dodgers broadcaster, my first released chapter will be about his first game with the Dodgers, all the way back on April 18, 1950:

Date: April 18, 1950

Site: Shibe Park

Teams: Brooklyn Dodgers vs. Philadelphia Phillies

Significance: Vin Scully broadcasts his first Dodgers game

Impact: The standard by which all baseball broadcasters should be measured begins

“It may sound corny, but, I enjoyed listening to Vin (Scully) call a game almost more than playing in them. He’s been a special broadcaster for a lot of years and he’s been wonderful to listen to for a lot of years. He definitely is the All-Century broadcaster as far as I’m concerned.” — Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax

“There is no broadcaster in baseball with Vinny’s eloquence, sense of humor, knowledge of baseball history, and genuine class.” — DodgerBlues.com

“Baseball fans everywhere should thank God they were alive during any part of Vin Scully’s career.” — a posting on MLB’s website after it was announced that Vin Scully would return to the broadcast booth in 2015 for his 66th season of Dodger baseball

“It’s time for Dodger baseball! Hi, everybody, and a very pleasant good (day/evening) to you, wherever you may be.” –Vin Scully’s usual opening to his broadcasts

When Vincent Edward Scully, the ageless wonder of the baseball broadcasting business, first began describing MLB games for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1950—yes, the Dodgers were in Brooklyn at the time and no one for a moment thought they would ever move—Connie Mack was still managing the Philadelphia Athletics; a western road trip meant a team was heading by train to Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland or St. Louis; the most southern locale in MLB was Washington, D.C.; the Braves were located in Boston—heck, Vin Scully called the last Boston Braves’ game!,—rock-and-roll music was unknown, television was a novelty item that only the well-to-do owned, the Korean War was two months away from starting, and MLB was still getting used to the idea of racial integration. In 2016 Scully will begin his 67th and final year of broadcasting with the Dodgers. With the exception of Connie Mack, no single individual has served MLB so well for so long.

The key to Scully’s success is not what he does but how he does it. According to Gary Kaufman of salon.com,

Vin Scully has the most musical voice in baseball. He doesn’t have the clipped, old-time-radio cadence of most broadcasters who date back to the ’50s and beyond. Although his timbre is thin, everything is smooth and rounded. The words slide into each other. He has flow. The melody rises and falls on the tide of the game. You can almost hum along to Vin Scully. He’s often referred to as baseball’s poet laureate, and those who don’t get him parody him by quoting Emerson or spouting flowery language. But even though he will occasionally toss off some verse (he’s likely to find the lyrics of an old show tune more apt) or call a cheap base hit “a humble thing, but thine own,” the real metaphor for Vin Scully isn’t poetry, or even music: It’s painting. Other radio announcers can tell you what’s happening on the field, and you can imagine it. With Vin Scully, you can see it. His command of the language and the game is so masterful that he always has just the right words to describe what’s going on. He paints you a picture.

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