Bob Sheppard, the voice of Yankee Stadium, died Monday. Only two months shy of his 100th birthday, Sheppard was known for his concise speaking style as the public-address announcer for the Yankees. He held that position from 1951 to 2007, announcing lineups containing baseball greats like DiMaggio and Mantle up to today's players, like Derek Jeter,
who requested that Sheppard's voice be the only voice to announce his name in Yankee Stadium. His longetivity and distinct announcing voice made him popular with many generations of Yankee fans.
Born in 1910, Robert Leo Sheppard attended St. John's University and was president of his class. He later received his master's degree at Columbia University.
Before his time at Yankee Stadium began, he was a US Naval Officer in World War II, commanding shipboard gunnery crews, and a speech teacher at John Adams High School.
On April 17th, 1951, he announced his first Yankee game.
The lineup contained 8 future Hall of Famers, including Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Johnny Mize, Yogi Berra, and Phil Rizzuto for the Yankees, and Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr, and Lou Boudreau for the Boston Red Sox. Some of his
career highlights include announcing 4,500 Yankee games and being enshrined in Momument Park.
He enjoyed
pronouncing unusual names, especially those from Japanese and Spanish origins, often checking the pronunciation with the players themselves.
He missed his first home opener in 2006, and made few appearances after that. In November of 2009,
he officially announced his retirement.
A short video tribute to Sheppard and his famous voice.
posted by Navelgazer at 12:55 PM on July 13, 2010