Could Vin Scully be a saint? One author takes the question seriously

In a recent guest column for Angelus News, author and journalist Tom Hoffarth posed a question: Could the legendary broadcaster Vin Scully be considered for canonization?

When Scully died in 2022, his legacy was widely praised in both sports and media circles. Known for his 67-year career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Scully was also a devout Catholic whose faith influenced both his personal life and public presence. 

Referencing the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Hoffarth explains that saints, whether canonized or not, are those “who lived heroically virtuous lives, offered their life for others, or were martyred for the faith.” While Scully does not fit the latter two categories, Hoffarth suggests that his consistency, humility, and public witness to the faith might invite reflection on the first — and certainly on the U.S. bishops’ stipulation of “worthy of imitation.”

In his homily at the canonization Mass of Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis in Rome, Hoffarth noted, Pope Leo XIV said that both “used their gifts to bring others to God through their example, words, and actions.”

Scully was known for regularly praying the rosary before games, and for serving as a lector at his parish and recording audio of the rosary. 

“It was one thing to hear the Fordham grad melodically describe a well-turned double play or an outfielder’s long throw to home plate,” Hoffarth wrote. “It was another to be in the same space with him at Dodger Stadium for a Sunday morning Catholic Mass, hours before a game, as he was the assigned lector proclaiming the readings before the Gospel.

Hoffarth pointed to Scully’s ability to embody Christian virtues in public life without drawing attention to himself. 

“His actions behind the scenes often left a deeper mark than his Hall of Fame-winning words,” Hoffarth wrote.

He recalled when Scully received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016 and what the famous broadcaster said at the time. 

“I’m deadly serious — when I’ve been given a gift of 67 years of broadcasting, and then have to take a bow, I can’t think it’s something that I actually did,” Sully said. “It’s very nice and I deeply appreciate it, but. ... It’s not like I invented penicillin. I can’t stand in a spotlight as if I just saved a child from drowning. What do I have to do with a presidential award?”

In discussing his new book, Perfect Eloquence: An Appreciation of Vin Scully, Hoffarth noted that while sainthood wasn’t the intended theme, the idea surfaced naturally. 

“This is more about trying to honor a feeling,” he wrote, “somewhat difficult to explain, on the impact he has made on me and many others.”

Hoffarth concludes, “If Leo or one of his successors someday finds it appropriate to recognize Scully as someone who belongs to be a member of that heroically virtuous ballpark, we’d be thankful and take it as a win-Vin situation.”