A tip of my Red Sox cap to the Yankees as the legendary announcer of the team Bob Sheppard passed on today at the age of 99. I have never been a fan of going to Yankee Stadium (for obvious reasons) however Sheppard’s voice was always “familiar”. He had that distinctive deep voice that announced Yankee games since 1951 and, as Reggie Jackson described, sounded like “The Voice of God”.
The Yankees’ lineup for Sheppard’s first game on April 17, 1951, included DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Johnny Mize, Yogi Berra, and Phil Rizzuto. And the opponents that day, the Boston Red Sox, were led by Ted Williams.
Over his full career, he announced over 70 Hall of Famers.