The Voice of the Yankees retires
By Craig CalcaterraNov 26, 2009, 12:53 PM EST
Bob Sheppard hasn't announced games at Yankee Stadium since 2007, but he had not made his retirement official until today:
Bob Sheppard served more than 50 seasons as the "Voice of Yankee
Stadium," his clear, concise and correct style proudly providing the
soundtracks of summer for Yankees players from Joe DiMaggio to Derek
Jeter.
One month after celebrating his 99th birthday by watching the
Yankees inch closer to their 27th World Series championship — the
first Fall Classic he missed in the Bronx since 1951 — Sheppard has
decided it is time to officially step down as the club's public address
announcer.
"I have no plans of coming back," Sheppard said on Wednesday in
a telephone interview. "Time has passed me by, I think. I had a good
run for it. I enjoyed doing what I did. I don't think, at my age, I'm
going to suddenly regain the stamina that is really needed if you do
the job and do it well."
Most people retire when they're over 30 years younger than Sheppard, so he has more than put in his fair share of work. Still, he will be missed by Yankees fans and anyone else who fell in love with baseball back when a day at the ballpark was a simple and straightforward affair. No dot races, no rock music pumped in before every at bat and no other sorts of nonsense. Just the sun, some light organ music and the sounds of the game, chief among them the dulcet tones of a true pro like Sheppard.