Ray Scott
From BR Bullpen
- Born June 17, 1919 in Johnstown, PA USA
- Died March 23, 1998 in Minneapolis, MN USA
A broadcaster for sixty years, Ray Scott was actually more famous as a football broadcaster. He began his career in Johnstown, Pennsylvania before moving on to Pittsburgh after the War.
In 1952, Scott had the idea of putting the NFL on national television. None of the big three networks would take the idea so he put the games on the Dumont Network. When Dumont folded in 1955, CBS picked up games for 1956. Scott was signed to the Packers, for whom he would call games for 19 seasons.
When the Washington Senators became the Minnesota Twins, they were unable to get Senators broadcaster Bob Wolff to move to Minnesota. They took on Scott as their lead announcer. The novelty of major league baseball in Minnesota, made Scott an instant celebrity. In addition, many fans had heard him call Packers games as the Vikings did not join the NFL until 1960.
Scott stayed with the Twins through 1966. From 1967 to 1969, he worked exclusively for CBS doing football and golf. He joined the Washington Senators for 1970 and 1971. He was again part time with the Twins in 1973 and 1975. Scott also worked for the Milwaukee Brewers (1976-77) and the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1982 to 1993. He also called football in local markets after leaving CBS in 1974.
Ray Scott finally retired from broadcasting in 1997 when he gave up his weekly radio program. His career spanned seven decades. He was awarded the 2000 Rozelle Award for excellence in football coverage.
