Bob Sheppard
Bob Sheppard
Robert Leo Sheppard (October 20, 1910 – July 11, 2010) was the long-time public address announcer for numerous New York area college and professional sports teams, in particular the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (1951–2007), and the New York Giants (1956–2006) of the National Football League. Between 1958-1961, he also served as a substitute announcer on the TV game show Beat the Clock. Sheppard announced more than 4,500 Yankees baseball games over a period of 56 years, including 22 pennant-winning seasons and 13 World Series championships; he called 121 consecutive postseason contests, 62 games in 22 World Series, and six no-hitters, including three perfect games. For more than a half-century he was the voice of Giants football games, encompassing nine conference championships, three NFL championships (1956, 1986, 1990), and the game often called "the greatest ever played", the classic 1958 championship loss to Baltimore.Sheppard's smooth, distinctive baritone and precise, consistent elocution became iconic aural symbols of both the old Yankee Stadium and Giants Stadium. Reggie Jackson famously nicknamed him "The Voice of God", and Carl Yastrzemski once said, "You're not in the big leagues until Bob Sheppard announces your name."