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'Voice of God' presides over Yankees
by Stephen Borelli - USA Today

There are some corrections to this story which should be noted. They are noted below the story.

NEW YORK — He is as familiar to fans as any player in New York Yankees history. Yet he can walk around Yankee Stadium in his fedora without anyone noticing him.

But when Bob Sheppard speaks, anyone who has been to the famous ballpark in the Bronx can recognize him.

"Your attention please, ladies and gentlemen," Sheppard begins in his deep, distinguished voice before nearly every announcement he makes as Yankee Stadium's public address announcer. "Now batting for the Yankees, the shortstop, Derek Jeter ... No. 2."

Late Yankees greats Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle were in the first New York lineup Sheppard announced here on April 17, 1951, and they remain two of his favorite names to say. And now in his 50th season, Sheppard was in his telephone booth-size compartment high above Yankee Stadium Tuesday night, preparing to announce Game 1 of the American League Championship Series between New York and Seattle.

While thousands of players have come and are long gone from the Yankees and sons whose fathers once took them to Yankee Stadium are now taking their sons here, Sheppard remains a constant. Hall of Famer and former Yankee Reggie Jackson once said his words sound like "the voice of God" as they reverberate through the ballpark.

And when you hear his slow, dignified speech, which has such cadence you think every pitching change is the Gettysburg Address, you wonder whether its divine quality is holding the foundation of this old ballpark together.

"First time I heard it, it was my realization of making the big leagues after 10 years in the minor leagues," said Yankees reserve infielder Clay Bellinger, who didn't reach the majors until 1999 after beginning his minor league career in 1989. "Think of all the people he's announced."

And adding his mystique, Sheppard refuses to publicly reveal his age. It's thought that the slight, slender man with a white rim of hair around his bald head is well into his 80s.

Age isn't something Sheppard wants fans to associate with him. He has followed the same game plan for 50 years, arriving at the stadium from his home in Long Island three or four hours before the first pitch.

"It's a routine that has been followed for 50 years, and so far ... so far ... I haven't missed the opening cue," Sheppard said.

Sheppard obtains a roster for the Yankees' opposition and seeks out that team's radio broadcaster. He writes out the pronunciation of the names in a way he will remember to say them in public, especially the unconventional ones, which are his favorites.

Two names of Mariners players that struck Sheppard as a wonderful exercise in phonics are those of reliever Kazuhiro Sasaki and outfielder Raul Ibanez. Those on Sheppard's all-time list include DiMaggio ("His name was symbolic of the early Yankees," Sheppard says) and Mantle ("Mickey Mantle has a nice ring to it because the two 'Ms' make it alliterative and the 'l' — Mickey Mantle — sounds very good").

Before he died in 1995, Mantle said hearing Sheppard pronounce his name gave him goose bumps, something Sheppard told the slugger did the same for him when he said it.

Sheppard loves to enunciate Latin-sounding names like Alvaro Espinoza, a Yankees shortstop in the late 1980s and early 1990s. His favorite over the last couple of seasons is Shigetoshi Hasegawa, a Japanese reliever for the Anaheim Angels.

You can see why the name Steve Sax was no fun for him when the second baseman played for the Yankees in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Despite his affection for names — Sheppard is a former high school speech professor as well as one at St. John's University in Queens — Sheppard has never felt compelled to get close to players.

"I'm not a hero worshipper," said Sheppard, a devout Catholic who also serves as a lector in church. "In all the years I've been here, I could probably count the number of times I've been in the clubhouse on my fingers — less than 10 in 50 years. Rarely do I go in there, rarely do I have anything to say to the team — or the team to me. If I see them in the dugout or around the field, we exchange hellos, but I do not get to know the players, and they don't get to know me."

Sheppard made an exception for his rule Tuesday night, when he sought out Mariners manager Lou Piniella, a Yankees outfielder from 1974 to 1984.

"I went into the Seattle Mariners' dressing room, went into see Lou Piniella ... and I wished him luck," Sheppard said before Game 1 of the ALCS. "I liked Lou. He was a very tempestuous, highly volatile ballplayer, and a tempestuous and highly volatile manager. But I read that he's slowing down, getting quieter, getting to be mellow. And I told him, 'That's good for your high blood pressure.'"

Keeping his distance from most players hasn't kept Sheppard from establishing some favorite moments during his time behind the Yankee Stadium microphone. Sheppard has also served as the NFL's New York Giants public address announcer since 1956, but his top memories are restricted to baseball.

"I have been here 50 years. Somebody figured out that I have announced between 4,000 and 5,000 (baseball) games," Sheppard said. "I can't pick out one, but I can give you a few that are outstanding."

Sheppard's favorite Yankee Stadium moments include: the Yankees' Don Larsen's perfect game — the only one in World Series history — against the Brooklyn Dodgers in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series; the Yankees' Roger Maris belting his then-record 61st regular-season home run in 1961; the Yankees' Chris Chambliss blasting a home run to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 1976 ALCS against Kansas City that gave the Yankees their first AL pennant in 12 years; and the Yankees' Reggie Jackson's three home runs against the Los Angeles Dodgers on three consecutive pitches in Game 6 of the 1977 World Series.

The Chambliss incident represented an opportunity for Sheppard to put a personal touch on his public address job beyond speaking words in his stately manner. Earlier in the game, Sheppard had told fans to refrain from throwing objects on the field after a call that went against the Yankees. But he didn't feel the need to do so after Chambliss' emotional home run, after which thousands of fans stormed the field, almost preventing Chambliss from making his trip around the bases before he scurried for shelter in the clubhouse.

"It was never a problem when a game was on and fans were throwing things on the field; I was able to persuade them to stop," Sheppard said. "In the Chambliss incident, I did absolutely nothing. The game was over, the Yankees had won, 10,000 people, as if they were shot out of a cannon, ran out on the field and I just folded my arms and let them do it.

"I could never have stopped them. The Marines couldn't have stopped them. Nobody could have stopped them. It had to happen. I never saw anything like it before, and I've never seen anything like it since."

At other times, however, Sheppard has spoken from his heart over the Yankee Stadium speakers. These instances have come in periods of mourning, as when Mantle died in 1995 or, beyond baseball, when Mother Theresa passed away in 1997. For both, Sheppard wrote and read short yet stirring tributes.

With Mantle's, he began, "Today, we lost one of us .... " He proceeded to describe the grace and effortless elegance he saw in Mantle's play. For Mother Theresa, he said, "Thank you, Mother Theresa," and he talked of her benevolence toward the world's poor and hungry.

Before Game 2 of the ALCS, Sheppard paid tribute to former Yankees pitcher and current pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre, who is away from the team receiving treatment for bone marrow cancer, before Stottlemyre's wife, Jean, threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

"Today, the New York Yankees would like to admire the strength and courage of one of our own," Sheppard said. "Although he can't be here today, we know he's with us in spirit."

After Jean threw the pitch to Yankees catcher Jorge Posada, Sheppard said: "Mel, you remain in our hearts."

The booming voice over Yankee Stadium's loud speakers is actually one of care and kindness in person. Even when strangers drop in on his box right before a game or in between batters, interrupting Sheppard from his reading from a book he keeps on a table in front of him, he greets them with a friendly handshake and warm smile.

But when it's time to speak to his Yankee Stadium brethren and announce hitters or a pitching change, Sheppard's voice is there over the PA system. To many, it always has been.

There are corrections that must be noted in the above story: They are as follows:

Never in almost 58 seasons has Bob EVER uttered “Now batting.” This is the great Sheppard urban legend and is mistakenly used by impressionists.
The “now batting” false quote is in the third paragraph of this piece and involves Jeter.

It may have to do w/the P.A. voice used in “The Odd Couple” movie from 1967 (kind of an all-purpose template for PA announcer quotes), possibly some other PA guys including John Ramsey of the Dodgers, and the fact that over the years fans in house and on TV have heard Bob utter “batting” and have turned it into “now batting.” However his use of the verb “batting” is only within the following contexts:
1. During the World Series when Bob introduces the players who then dash out on to the field. This script is written by MLB and Bob just follows their words (this is different from Yankee openers when he doesn’t indicating “Batting first” etc.). An example: in the old days when the Yankees were in the WS regularly Bob would introduce Torre first. Then he’d say, “Batting first and playing shortstop, number two, Derek Jeter, number two, etc. etc.” Never, though, did he say “now batting.” When Jeter first came to bat Bob would announce, “Number 2, Derek Jeter, shortstop, number 2.” Subsequent at bats for Jeter would be announced, “The shortstop, Derek Jeter.”
2. An obvious one, “Batting for Jeter, number, etc..”

Thank you to Paul Doherty for the corrections.

Bob Sheppard
By Adam Schefter

Not all sports fans would recognize his name, but almost all would recognize his voice. It is the voice of the New York Yankees, the New York Giants, and it is as distinctive as pinstripes. Former Yankees great Reggie Jackson once called it the "voice of God." "Your attention, please, ladies and gentlemen," Bob Sheppard begins in his deep, distinguished voice before nearly every announcement he makes as Yankee Stadium's public address announcer. "Now batting for the Yankees, the shortstop, Derek Jeter ... No. 2." So your attention, please, ladies and gentlemen. Now batting for our Sunday column, Bob Sheppard.

Adam Schefter: Did you ever imagine becoming as much of a Yankees fixture as Mickey Mantle or Joe DiMaggio?

Bob Sheppard: Absolutely not. When I took the job, I took it thinking this will fill in a year or two in my spare time. Never did I realize that I would be doing this for a lifetime. Generally the public address announcer is not conspicuous. He is hidden away. Nobody sees him. After 53 years, I could walk through a crowd of 50,000 people at Yankee Stadium, and if I kept my mouth shut, very few people would know what I look like. Public address announcers are secondary. Really. I can't name another public address announcer in the big leagues. Can you?

AS: Umm ...

BS: That shows how important we are. I don't know the Mets' announcers. I don't know who does Boston or Chicago or Denver. Do you?

AS: How often does somebody recognize your voice?

BS: Now that will happen, and has happened now and again. I can remember on Long Island here, going to a party and going up to the open bar. I said, "I'll have a Scotch and water." And the bartender lifted his eyes and said, "You sound just like the man at Yankee Stadium." He didn't say, "You look like him." No, he said, "You sound like him." And when we spend our winter in Jupiter, Fla. — January, February and March — I serve as a lector at the morning Masses. Once in a while someone will come up to me after Mass and say: "You know, you sound like the man up at Yankee Stadium. Did you know that?" And I say: "I know that. Because I am the man at Yankee Stadium."

AS: As a professor of speech at St. John's University, what was the one lesson you tried to impart to your students?

BS: The most important item for any public speaker is audibility. Too many people speak in public and do not reach the people in the back of the audience. Without audibility, you're dead. If you can't be heard, there's no sense in speaking.

AS: How have students expressed their gratitude to you?

BS: Believe it or not, I do get, on a semi-regular basis, thank-you letters from students of mine of the past. Since I taught for more than 25 years, I have taught thousands of students. Every once in a while, a letter reaches me saying, "I want to thank you for the help you gave me to become a better speaker, and as a result I'm making a living, and part of that is due to the fact that I'm speaking well." And that's my reward. Teaching doesn't have great monetary awards. But it has a lot of spiritual awards.

AS: Did you make more money as a teacher or a P.A. announcer?

BS: Oh, teaching is much better. You don't understand this. Public address announcing is a part-time job. But that part-time job has extended 53 years for the Yankees and 47 years with the Giants.

AS: How old are you?

BS: That's the one question I should have told you not to ask me. One time, not too many years ago, Jim Bouton, who used to pitch for the Yankees, was a TV announcer, and he asked if he could interview me. I graciously said yes, and he brought his TV crew up to the press box, and he sent them up. He said, "Let's start by asking: 'How old are you, Bob?' And I said, 'What's your next question?' He repeated, 'How old are you, Bob.' And I said, 'This interview is over.'"

AS: How old do you feel?

BS: 22.

AS: What are your favorite names to announce?

BS: There's one at the present time that I love to have my tongue work around. Shigetoshi Hasegawa. And I love the Hispanic names because they're so euphonious. Alfonso Soriano. Those names are so much more euphonious than Anglo-Saxon names like Steve Sax. What can you do with Steve Sax?

AS: Do you do much pregame work on names?

BS: I go to people and say, "How do you pronounce your name?" It's very important to me because teaching speech, I tell them early in the course, knowing the name of the student and pronouncing it properly is a tribute to the student. And even now, I went to Jason Giambi when he joined the Yankees and I said: "How do you pronounce your last name? Three syllables, like Gi-am-bi? Or two syllables like Giam-bi.' He said: 'I say, Giam-bi. Two syllables.' But 99 percent of the people announcing his name call him 'Gi-am-bi.' "

AS: Do you remember the first lineup you announced?

BS: At first base, Johnny Mize. At second base, Jerry Coleman. At shortstop, Phil Rizzuto. At third base, Billy Johnson. In left field, Jackie Jensen. In center field, Joe DiMaggio. In right field, Mickey Mantle. Catching, Yogi Berra. And pitching, Vic Raschi. And the first man I ever introduced in my career, which was April of 1951, was the Boston Red Sox center fielder Dom DiMaggio.

AS: Kindest thing that Mickey Mantle ever said about you?

BS: Well, "Good Morning America" asked me to come over and introduce Mickey on TV. So they sent a limousine that my wife, Mary, and I would take, and we were up in the studio waiting for Mickey's arrival. It was the days long after he had retired and had become a spokesman for eliminating his problem of alcohol. He had written a book, and was going to make an appearance. He went into the studio and on cue, I introduced him as I normally did. "In center field, No. 7, Mickey Mantle, No. 7." And he turned to his interviewers and said, "Every time Bob Sheppard introduced me, I got goose bumps." And I said under my microphone, "Mickey, so did I."

AS: Do you have a favorite Joe DiMaggio memory?

BS: I very rarely become close to the players. I don't go into the locker room too often unless I have a mission to go there. I think maybe in all the years, I became closer to Reggie Jackson than any of the other players. He reached out to me, and Reggie is that kind of a person. When he joined the Yankees from Oakland, I walked into the dressing room, and he didn't know me, I didn't know him, but I was talking to the fellow in charge of the locker room, and Reggie came over and said, "Are you Bob Sheppard." And I said, "Yes, Reggie." And he said, "Man, you've got class."

AS: What's it like working for George Steinbrenner?

BS: I have no complaints, absolutely none. He has never, to my knowledge, in all the years he has been there, had one word of criticism of how I do my job. Nor has he ever made a suggestion about changing my style. Nor, unfortunately, does he come in and say, "Bob, you're doing a good job, keep it up." He just accepts me for what I am, and I don't know what I would do if he suddenly wanted to remake me into the image of the modern-day public address announcer, who stretches out introductions for 15 to 18 seconds instead of saying, "The center fielder, Bernie Williams." The modern kids are saying, "The cennnnntttterrrrfielder Berrrrrrnnnnie Willlllliiiiiiams." I think if Mr. Steinbrenner came in and said, "I want you to do it that way," I would say "Sayonara."

AS: So you don't particularly enjoy the modern-day introductions?

BS: If that's what they want in Kansas City or Denver, that's up to them. But I cannot change my style. My style is what I use in the classrooms. My style is what I use in church. My style is what I use at home. My style is what I use in football and baseball. And that's what it's going to be until I leave.

AS: How much longer do you want to do those jobs?

BS: As long as God gives me the ability to do it well, as long as I like it, and as long as Steinbrenner and Giants owner Wellington Mara are happy with what I do, I'm going to do it until I find it boring or taxing or I feel inadequate. And I don't foresee that at this particular time.

AS: How have you been able to age so well?

BS: God has been very good to me. He has given me a good life, good children, good grandchildren, good great-grandchildren. I've been blessed. I've been blessed 1,000 times. My philosophy about going to Yankee Stadium and Giants Stadium is this: Most men go to work. I go to a game. Not a bad life, is it?

Bob Sheppard

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Robert Leo Sheppard, (born October 12, 1910 in Richmond Hill, New York) has been the public address announcer for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball since 1951, and was for the New York Giants of the National Football League from 1956 to 2006. Since joining the Yankees, he has announced over 4,500 Major League Baseball games, and has worked 22 World Series games. The first Yankee lineup Sheppard announced contained 6 future Hall of Famers: Joe Dimaggio, Mickey Mantle, Johnny Mize, Yogi Berra, Phil Rizzuto, and Jerry Coleman, as a broadcaster. The Yankees played the Boston Red Sox that day and Sheppard introduced future Hall of Famers Ted Williams and Lou Boudreau for a total of eight future Hall of Famers.

A U.S. Naval Officer in World War II, Lieutenant Robert Sheppard commanded shipboard gunnery crews in the United States Pacific Fleet (1942-1945).

Throughout his career, Sheppard has kept his age a secret, once ending an interview when asked the question twice. An ex-Yankees official, however, recently confirmed Sheppard's birthdate [1] and another article has Sheppard graduated from St. John's Preparatory School in Brooklyn in 1928, consistent with this birthdate. He was President of his senior class in college, and graduated from Saint John's University in 1932. He earned his Masters degree from Columbia University in 1933. http://www.qgazette.com/news/2003/1105/Community_Calendar/002.html]. IMDB.com lists his birthday as October 12th, 1910.

Sheppard was originally a speech teacher in both the New York City school district and his alma mater, St. John's University in Jamaica, Queens. Sheppard would continue to serve St. John's as a PA announcer for sporting events, including men's basketball and varsity football, into the 1990s. Sheppard maintains that his work as a Professor of Speech is far more important than his work as an announcer. He said that as an announcer, "All I have to recommend is longevity." He is in the St. John's University Sports Hall of Fame as an athlete. He earned seven (7) Varsity letters from 1928 to 1932,three in baseball as the starting first baseman, and four in football as the starting quarterback. St. John's annually awards the Sheppard Trophy to the most outstanding student-athlete as one of their highest awards.

Sheppard has been honored by having his microphone encased in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. On May 7, 2000, in celebration of his 50th season as the Yankees' PA announcer, the team dedicated a plaque in his honor, to be placed in Monument Park at Yankee Stadium. The plaque calls him "The Voice of Yankee Stadium". Former Yankee Reggie Jackson once dubbed him "the Voice of God."

Sheppard has earned both World Series Championship rings, and NFL Super Bowl Championship ring honors in his role with the Yankees and the NY Football Giants. The only other person to share this honor was the late Bill King from Oakland, California.

In 2002, Sheppard's voice appeared in on air promos for the Yankee's new cable channel, the YES Network. Those promos featuring his voice remain in use today. His appearances in major motion pictures include "Anger Management", "61*", "It Could Happen To You", and "The Scout".

Sheppard retired as the voice of the Giants following the end of the 2005 Giants season. Sheppard's final regular season game was the Giants' final home game of the 2005 season, a win versus the Kansas City Chiefs on December 17, 2005. His final playoff game was the Giants' loss against the Carolina Panthers on January 8, 2006. He worked for 50 years on a handshake agreement (no written contract) with Giants owner Wellington Mara.

On April 11, 2006, Sheppard missed his first Yankees home opener since April 17,1951. He threw out his hip at his Long Island home the day before and was not able to attend the game; Hall filled in for him on the team's opening homestand, with the assistance of Sheppard's youngest son, Christopher. Sheppard returned to the microphone on the next Yankee homestand, Friday, April 21.[2] In Sports Illustrated's mention of that incident, they reported that Derek Jeter said if he had his way, they would make a recording of Sheppard's voice announcing his name, for any future occasion where Sheppard is unable to do so himself.

'Voice of God' presides over Yankees
by Stephen Borelli - USA Today

Old Press Release

BOB SHEPPARD TO BE HONORED

Bob Sheppard

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

'Voice of God' presides over Yankees by Stephen Borelli - USA Today

Old Press Release

BOB SHEPPARD TO BE HONORED

Bob Sheppard

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

'Voice of God' presides over Yankees
by Stephen Borelli - USA Today