OH at the Pearly Gates: I Don’t Get it; You Don’t Sound Anything Like Me
(Greg, finding religion)
Bob Sheppard, former voice of the World Football League’s New York Stars, has died at the age of 99. Sheppard did nothing but read names of the participants of games he had little interest in or regard for and somehow became an icon. There is an argument against tradition. Lauded for his elegant intonations of more than a half century’s worth of icons and irrelevants, from Mickey Mantle to Mickey Klutts, Sheppard was often called the Voice of God, equating diction with omnipotence, as only New Yorkers can. He hadn’t been at a game since the end of the 2007 season due to illness, but recorded introductions for the final game at Yankee Stadium, and his recording is still used to introduce Derek Jeter. In addition to the Yankees, he was the PA announcer for the New York Giants from 1956 to 2005, at both Yankee Stadium and Giants Stadium, men’s basketball and football at St. John’s University, Army football, the NASL’s New York Cosmos, American Football League’s New York Titans at the Polo Grounds, the Brooklyn Dodgers of the All-American Football Conference, and the WFL’s Stars at Downing Stadium. For a batter, he was also the PA announcer at Fenway Park. Visiting sport’s greatest stadium for a Boston-California game, Sheppard was invited to introduce a batter by the Red Sox’ inimitable Sherm Feller. The batter, Reggie Jackson, familiar with that voice, dropped his bat and whipped around to scan the press box. Despite his vantage point on history, Sheppard was no fan, reading books between hitters and standing at the back of the press box at the end of games as a head start on beating the traffic. So really, he was closer to an anal retentive librarian than a baseball institution.
Bob Sheppard, former voice of the World Football League’s New York Stars, has died at the age of 99. Sheppard did nothing but read names of the participants of games he had little interest in or regard for and somehow became an icon. There is an argument against tradition. Lauded for his elegant intonations of more than a half century’s worth of icons and irrelevants, from Mickey Mantle to Mickey Klutts, Sheppard was often called the Voice of God, equating diction with omnipotence, as only New Yorkers can. He hadn’t been at a game since the end of the 2007 season due to illness, but recorded introductions for the final game at Yankee Stadium, and his recording is still used to introduce Derek Jeter. In addition to the Yankees, he was the PA announcer for the New York Giants from 1956 to 2005, at both Yankee Stadium and Giants Stadium, men’s basketball and football at St. John’s University, Army football, the NASL’s New York Cosmos, American Football League’s New York Titans at the Polo Grounds, the Brooklyn Dodgers of the All-American Football Conference, and the WFL’s Stars at Downing Stadium. For a batter, he was also the PA announcer at Fenway Park. Visiting sport’s greatest stadium for a Boston-California game, Sheppard was invited to introduce a batter by the Red Sox’ inimitable Sherm Feller. The batter, Reggie Jackson, familiar with that voice, dropped his bat and whipped around to scan the press box. Despite his vantage point on history, Sheppard was no fan, reading books between hitters and standing at the back of the press box at the end of games as a head start on beating the traffic. So really, he was closer to an anal retentive librarian than a baseball institution.
Labels: baseball, New York Yankees
posted by The Grim Reaper at 4:58 PM
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