Ray Scott
Inducted: 2001
TV Announcer: 1956-63, 1965-67
Scott was the television voice of the Lombardi Packers and one of the most visible pro football announcers of his time. His delivery was rich and powerful, and his style inimitable. Economizing on words was his hallmark and maybe the most memorable of his brief and to-the-point calls was "Starr to Dowler … touchdown." Scott started announcing Packers games in 1956, the first season that CBS televised the National Football League. That was in the day when the network assigned specific announcers to each team. The Packers were perennial losers at the time, and handling their games wasn't exactly a cherished assignment. But that soon changed dramatically.
Not long after Vince Lombardi took over as coach in 1959, the Packers became winners and the darlings of televised sports. On a parallel track, pro football's popularity was mushrooming and Scott started drawing the crème de la crème of games. He broadcast the Ice Bowl, the first two Super Bowls and nine NFL title games in all.
"He was a consummate professional," said former Packers historian Lee Remmel. "He also had a good baritone and stentorian voice. A voice that resonated. Everything he said sounded like it was chiseled in stone."
When CBS decided before the 1964 season to assign two sets of announcers to each game and have them share the announcing duties, Scott resigned rather than work under that arrangement. He returned in 1965 and broadcast Packers games through their historic three-year championship run. Later, Scott was paired with Pat Summerall on the No. 1 CBS announcing team. He also broadcast two more Super Bowls. He was elected to the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame in 1982.
Born June 17, 1919, in Johnstown, Pa. Given name Ray Eugene Scott. Died March 23, 1998, at age 78.
- By Cliff Christl