Vin Scully's Lone Stint as a Game Show Host

As Vin Scully wraps up his 67 year career broadcasting the Los Angeles Dodgers, over the years he has done other sports such as football and golf and even hosted a game show.  Here's a look back at Scully's only foray into the world of game shows.

In 1969, NBC decided to cancel the Goodson-Todman game show Snap Judgement after a two year run.  Replacing the Ed McMahon hosted game (he would go on to host Concentration for six months until he was replaced by Bob Clayton) would be a new game show from Ralph Andrews titled It Takes Two.  Andrews also had a hit show on the network that was popular with kids coming home from school along with the original Match Game with Gene Rayburn, You Don't Say!

Instead of casting a veteran host such as Tom Kennedy or Bill Cullen, Andrews hired Scully to host It Takes Two.  Scully would be the first sportscaster to host a game show on NBC since Bill Mazer hosted the short-lived Reach for the Stars in 1967.

The show would feature three celebrity couples who game numerical answers to questions based on stunts and demonstrations.  After the couple's answers were averaged, announcer John Harlan would be in the audience with a contestant who had to pick which couple was the closest to the correct answer.  If the contestant chose the correct couple, they got $100.  Later in the show's run, an audience member won a prize for a correct prediction and if four straight prizes were won, the audience member would win a car.

It Takes Two debuted on NBC on March 31, 1969, going up against reruns of The Lucy Show on CBS and local or syndicated programming on ABC.  In New York, the ABC owned station aired "Prize Movie" that was hosted by actress Gloria DeHaven.  It Takes Two had good ratings despite a number of affiliates that delayed or didn't carry the show because of other programming commitments.

It Takes Two was cancelled after a year and three months on July 31, 1970.  It would be replaced by a talk/variety show hosted by Dinah Shore titled Dinah's Place.  In 1997, It Takes Two was revived on The Family Channel (now Freeform) with Dick Clark taking over the hosting reins from Scully.  This incarnation lasted only three months.  But the original version was Scully's only venture as a game show host and he handled it well.