Making The Call: A Great Career

One of the great figures in New York sports officially retired this week. Bob Sheppard, the public address announcer of the Yankees, Giants and St. John’s called it quits at the ripe old age of 99. Sheppard, who worked for the Yankees from 1951-2007 and the Giants from 1956-2006 was as much a part of the game as the players.

Usually you would hear the words as you made your way to your seats, “Good Afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Yankee Stadium.” The cadence was deliberately slow, with each syllable pronounced and it reverberated across the façade of the old stadium, bouncing back at you from different angles. Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Frank Gifford, Reggie Jackson, Lawrence Taylor, Chris Mullin, Derek Jeter, all of them were introduced by Bob Sheppard. And despite his absence from the new stadium, Derek Jeter used a recording of Sheppard to introduce his at bats there.

Billy Crystal once said that when he got to Heaven, he hoped Bob Sheppard would be there to announce him. Let’s hope Mr. Sheppard is in no rush to take that role and let’s appreciate one of the great careers in New York sports. The “Voice of God” will be missed.