Bob Sheppard the New York Yankee Announcer Dies at 99

Whether you are a New York Yankee fan or not, the name Bob Sheppard was one that garnished personal respect from many. I am certainly one of those.

For those who do not know the storied career of Mr. Sheppard, here is a link to a great article from Sports Illustrated, Yankees PA icon Sheppard, 99, dies. But for a couple of lines I would like to pay my respect as well.

When I woke up on September 4th, 1993 I had no idea that by the end of the day I would see two truly phenomenal sites and hear another.

That is the date of my first game at Yankee stadium, which I can still remember the sense of "presence" while walking though the gate to our seats. The second was that by the end of the game, no only had the Yankees won, but their pitcher, a man named Jim Abott through a No-Hitter! A very rare site in most American sport. For as incredible as this already was, seeing a No-Hitter in my first game at Yankee stadium, it was made all the more special because the man who threw that No-Hitter only had one hand.

That's right, read it again. He only had one hand!

A true athlete and a day that I will never forget, which was bolstered by the third part of my overall experience. That part was Bob Sheppard.

As the PA announcer he would introduce the coming batters in a voice truly did have a magic to it. For that he was given the nickname, "The Voice of God".

Since you never saw him during the game but yet heard his voice echo throughout the stadium with a gentle timber, you could hardly disagree, that if Hollywood wanted to cast the voice for God, his would most certainly be the one.

I know that I will miss having his voice be part of the games in the future, but I am thankful that I was able to hear it on many, many occasions, in a place where magic happened often...the great original Yankee Stadium.