Last call: Vin Scully's 20 greatest stories and anecdotes

If Vin Scully read a grocery list, he'd make it sound interesting.

Wait a minute - he did that once. And it was enthralling.

Yes, that's the beauty of Scully's broadcasts. For 67 years, he's entertained even the most casual of baseball fans with his smooth, kind voice and easy-going delivery that welcomed you into his home like a family member. A Scully broadcast is a free-flowing conversation between broadcaster and viewer, which means that, sprinkled into his call of the game itself, are stories, anecdotes, history lessons, or even - yes - reading somebody's grocery list.

With "Vin Scully Appreciation Day" happening tonight at Dodger Stadium, it's time to begin paying tribute to the voice of baseball - whether the ever-modest Scully likes it or not - as he prepares to step away from the microphone. Our look back at Scully's career begins today with some of our favorite stories, lessons, and downright goofy moments he's shared with us over the years.

Since his words always fly off the paper, portions of some of these stories here have been transcribed to allow for a different experience. Links to videos are provided should you wish to listen.

2012: Racing Jackie Robinson on skates

Scully told this wonderful story from the Dodgers' Brooklyn days during the fifth inning of a Dodgers-Giants game in 2012.

Did I ever tell you about the time Jackie and I raced each other on ice skates?

No, well I'm not going to tell you now, but ... That's gonna be hit into right field, Ethier on the run, picks it off. One away. So Conor Gillaspie, an out to right, Barry Zito coming up.

What happened was Rachel (Robinson), Jackie, and I were going up to a resort in the Catskill Mountains a long, long time ago. Being a kid from the east I had ice skates. Jackie and Rachel said, "Oh you're gonna go skating?" I said, "Yeah," they said, "Oh, we're gonna go with you!" ...

(Watch the video here)

2016: The Beatles escape Dodger Stadium

Fifty years to the day after the band's penultimate concert, Scully details The Beatles' harrowing journey out of Dodger Stadium.

2014: Mike Matheny and the bird poop

During the early stages of a 2014 game, Scully told us how bird droppings influenced Matheny's decision to stay in college.

Now, conventional wisdom would suggest that the bird bombing was a sign that he should hit the road. But Matheny had to go back and clean up. The pitch to Uribe a strike, 0-and-1 the count. He went back and showered and cleaned up and decided - all of a sudden - he was at peace. ... And there was one other thing that happened; the strike one pitch swung on and missed, 0-and-2.

Matheny went to his first class, and when he reached class he noticed a pretty field hockey player named Kristin. And he would marry her, and live happily ever after.

(Watch the video here)

1960: "Happy birthday, Frank!"

When the Dodgers first moved to Los Angeles, they played at the cavernous and ill-suited Memorial Coliseum. Fans were a ways away from the diamond in the weird football facility, so they took their transistor radios to games and let Scully and Jerry Doggett guide them along.

On Aug. 24, 1960, Scully noticed it was third-base umpire Frank Secory's birthday; since the crowd was listening along on their radios, he got on the mic and gave instructions to the over 27,000 Angelinos in attendance.

Well, what do you know about that? Today is Frank Secory's birthday. Let's have some fun. As soon as the inning is over I'll count to three and on three everybody yell, "Happy birthday, Frank!"

When the inning was over, Scully counted to three, and the Coliseum crowd serenaded a stunned Secory with birthday wishes.

2012: "We gotta get something trending"

Transistor radios may be gone, but Scully's still up to his old tricks on social media - even if he doesn't understand it.

(A transcript of the entire "trending" conversation is available here.)

2016: "Trick dirt"

Earlier this year, Scully found a moment to make dirt an appealing subject.

Back in 1916, the Yankees were playing in the Polo Grounds, and whenever the Washington Senators came to New York to play the Yankees, would you believe they brought their own dirt? (Chuckles) You're saying, "What?" Yeah, they did! They would bring their own dirt to dry their hands, and they claimed the soil around home plate in the Polo Grounds was trick dirt.

(Laughs) Have you ever heard of trick dirt? Here's the 1-1 pitch on the way, fastball banged into right field, base hit. ...

(Watch the video here)

2015: Flag facts

​A fiercely patriotic man, Scully took time to share stories and facts about Old Glory to celebrate the Fourth of July.

2016: Pearl Harbor memories

When the Dodgers honored a veteran of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Scully - a veteran himself - took us inside his living room on Dec. 7, 1941.

Anytime I hear Pearl Harbor - and I was, uh, 14 when we had Pearl Harbor ... and there is our distinguished hero indeed - when I think about Pearl Harbor I almost automatically think, "That's the only time I ever heard my father swear."

At 14, I can see I was crawling under the big family radio, and I was listening to a football game, the New York Giants football team in the NFL. The count goes to 1-and-2. In that game I do remember the only time the great Mel Hein was ever injured, was on Pearl Harbor Day, playing for the Giants. 1-2 pitch, little nubber up along first, Chooch picks it up and throws him out. So we have two down, and the batter will be Utley.

Well anyway as a kid ... and they interrupted the game and my (first thought was) woah, why would they do that, the Giants were on the move!

(Watch the video here)

2001: Return from 9/11

Scully's voice never wavered as he welcomed us back to the ballpark following the 9/11 attacks with a moving and heartfelt speech.

2014: Nat King Cole

About the time legendary crooner Nat King Cole lost his singing voice after flubbing the national anthem before the 1959 World Series.

Okay: That night, he had invited me to see his show in the Chicago nightclub, I forget the name of it. And when he opened up his show it was a movable stage, and as the stage would move he'd be at the piano coming out before the audience. The first pitch now, to Moises Sierra, in for a strike, and the count 0-and-1.

Anyway, he was playing the piano and he couldn't sing a lick. He had no voice. He was totally hoarse - strike one pitch low - and I was absolutely shocked, as was everybody in the audience. So when the show was over I went backstage and I said, "Nat, what happened to your voice?" "Well," he said, "I was at the game, and I got hollerin'." Now, here's the point of the story: That's a billion-dollar voice.

(Watch the video here)

2016: The history of beards

In which the clean-shaven Scully - fascinated by Andrew Cashner's beard - lectures on the evolution of facial hair.

2016: Childhood pranks

Albert Pujols inspires Scully to remember his childhood.

Funny, the memory. Every time I say "Albert," I think of when I and many others were kids many years ago. And not talking about Fat Albert whom a lot of people certainly remember.

It was a dumb thing to do but kids do dumb things, although it was harmless. We would call a tobacco store ... and say, "Do you have Albert in a can?" You know, there was Prince Albert, right? And kids would say, "Do you have Albert in a can?" And the guy'd say, "Yes I do," and we'd say, "Would you please let him out?" And we'd hang up, we'd lost a nickel, and we thought it was hysterical.

(Watch the video here)

2014, 2016: Remembering D-Day

In 2014, Scully delved into the history of D-Day and what it means; two years later, he finished off a D-Day broadcast with a moving reading of "Little Ships."

2015: Gomes' wolf attack

Did you know Jonny Gomes survived a wolf attack? Scully sure did.

2014: Meeting Babe Ruth

As a young boy in New York, Scully got Ruth's autograph ... or, something resembling it.

... I was in the Polo Grounds in New York, upper deck, right field, and I can remember that clear as a bell. And a strike to Goebbert. Anyway there was a commotion. A lot of people were running over to an area not too far from where I was. So, being a kid, I went over to see what all the noise was about.

And there he was, the way you would imagine him. One ball, one strike. There was Babe Ruth. He had a camel coat on, and he had a cap. Not a baseball cap: A cap. And the kids were all around him wanting his autograph. That's gonna be a strike, 1-and-2. And I can see and hear him now: "Just a minute, just a minute." And he reached into one of the side pockets of that camel-haired coat, and he took out what I would say was a stack of business cards. Little cards that people use for business; 2-and-2 the count.

They were blank on one side, and on the other side was a stamped Babe Ruth signature.

(Watch the video here)

2014: Jackie's death threats

A beautiful tale of the Dodgers coming together for Jackie Robinson in 1947, told on the celebration of Jackie Robinson Day.

That was a true story involving Jackie Robinson and the Dodgers. They were playing in Cincinnati and Jackie had gotten some very serious death threats. So serious the FBI, police department, were all over Crosley Field, and they had sharpshooters on the rooftop of Crosley Field. There was sharpshooters on the roof of the laundry back in left field; there were also sharpshooters on top of the post office off first base and down the line. So it was serious, and there was a great deal of tension amongst all those who knew about it.

And the Dodgers had their usual pregame meeting, and it was even more tense as they tried to get a game frame mentally instead of worrying about Jackie Robinson being shot at. And while the meeting was going on, the Dodger left fielder from Brooklyn, good-natured happy-go-lucky guy named Gene Hermanski, all of a sudden, right in the middle of the meeting, Hermanski said, "I've got it!"

And everybody turned and they looked at Gene and they said, "You've got what?" And he said, "I know what we can do to ease the tension on Jackie." And they said, "What is it?" He said, "We'll all wear No. 42."

(Watch the video here)

2013: "That's fertilizer!"

Scully sorts out a Dodgers-Padres brawl and provides some interesting closed captioning of his own.

2015: Satchel Paige makes a wager

On Paige, Bill Veeck, Whitey Herzog, a bet, and bourbon.

So then when he went back in before the game started, Whitey was talking to Satchel Paige. He said, "Satch, you see that hole out there in center field?" And Paige said, "Yes, wild child." (Whitey) said, "I'll bet you a bottle of bourbon that you can't throw the ball through that hole."

The 1-2 pitch inside, ball two.

So the next day, before batting practice, Herzog had a bunch of balls, and he took Satchel Paige out. Herzog marched off 60 feet, six inches from the hole.

The next pitch fouled back.

He gave Satchel Paige the ball and Satchel said, "Wild child, does the ball fit through the hole?" And Whitey Herzog said, "Satch, it sure does." He said, "Then you have a bet."

(Watch the video here)

2016: A bus ride in Pittsburgh

How the Pirates' bus driver inspired a Dodgers winning streak.

Dodgers had played a Sunday afternoon game in Pittsburgh, and they lost the game. And then, when they got on the bus - it was a long drive to the airport - it was a city bus. You know, hard back, hard seat. And the Dodgers bus was going along the freeway - it's a big long uphill drive in Pittsburgh, to get to the airport - and the Pirate bus came by, and it was one of those buses richly outfitted, and flying by the Dodger bus. And the pilot of the Pirate bus, maybe egged on by the team, he honked the horn - Beep beep! Beep beep! - and the Pirates went flying by the Dodgers.

Well, Dodgers players were unhappy anyway, and they were really ticked off that the Pirates had a much better bus. So now the players began to grumble. ... Here's the 1-2 pitch on the way ... inside, 2-and-2. And one of the Dodgers players grumbled, "Why don't we have a bus as good as the Pirates?" And the Dodgers' travelling secretary, without thinking, said, "If you'd play better, you'd have a better bus."

Woaaah! Now you have an unhappy bus.

(Watch the video here)

2016: The "Field of Dreams" speech

(Videos courtesy: MLB.com)