Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully, who died Tuesday at the age of 94, is considered the greatest figure in franchise history, even though he never played for the team.
Scully called Dodgers games for 67 seasons and helped the team establish a relationship with the city when it moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles before the 1958 season.
“It was Vinny who introduced the Dodger organization to Southern California, to Los Angeles,” former owner Peter O’Malley said. “It wasn’t the first baseman, or the manager, or the team. There was no one who could have done it better. When you pause to understand the impact that he had then, as well as today, it’s extraordinary.”
We commissioned four artists to commemorate Scully’s career as the legendary voice of the Dodgers. Here are their portraits.
Sophia Chang
@esymai
“Working on baseball cards as an illustrator really opened up the world of baseball to me. I was excited to be commissioned by LA Times to work on an illustration of Vin Scully. As a storyteller myself, it is huge honor to be able to capture his likeness and his legacy through my work.”
From Chang’s bio: Sophia Chang hails from the borough of Queens, New York, and in less than a decade managed to champion a name for herself in the art, design and streetwear community worldwide. She has collaborated with Samsung, Nike, Refinery29, Adidas, Apple, Footlocker, HBO, and the NBA to name a few.
Chelique Rice
@che1ique
“For this particular piece I really just wanted to create something special and eye-catching for a legendary figure and shine a light on his incredible life’s work.”
From Ross’ bio: A specialist in sports design based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Currently creating graphics for the NBA and MLB, also Bleacher Report, the Chicago Bulls, and more.
Robert Carter
@cracked_hat_illustration
“I was very proud to have created two illustrations for the LA Times celebrating the man and legend, Vin Scully. I hope he would have approved of them.”
From Carter’s bio: A professional illustrator for nearly two decades, Carter’s style combines a strong foundation in portraiture with a unique sense of visual and conceptual problem-solving. He creates striking, vibrant and textured illustrations and portraits ranging from realistic to surreal. He lives and works as a professional freelance illustrator in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
Nate Sweitzer
@natesweitzer
“I wanted my piece to honor Vin’s legacy as the quintessential voice of baseball by capturing the excitement he brought to so many of the game’s signature moments.”
From Sweitzer’s bio: Nate Sweitzer is a Chicago-born illustrator who attended the College for Creative Studies in Detroit. His work places an emphasis on figurative drawing, textural mark-making, and conceptual solutions. His clients include “They Changed the Game,” a recently published book about creativity in sports.
Grab a copy of these portraits in Saturday’s print edition of the Los Angeles Times, available on newsstands and online at store.latimes.com.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.