Bob Sheppard

Bob Sheppard
Sheppard at the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000.
Born	Robert Leo Sheppard October 20, 1910 Richmond Hill, Queens, New York, US
Died	July 11, 2010(2010-07-11) (aged 99) Baldwin, New York, US
Nationality	American
Education	St. John's Preparatory School
Alma mater	St. John's University (New York) Columbia University
Occupation	public address announcer
Years active	1951–2007

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.

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. He was also the in-house voice for a half-century 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."

Sheppard was secretive about his age throughout his life, but according to New York voter records he was born October 20, 1910, in Richmond Hill, Queens, New York City. He graduated from Saint John's Preparatory School in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn in 1928, and attended St. John's University on an athletic scholarship, where he earned seven varsity letters from 1928 to 1932; three in baseball as the starting first baseman, and four in football as the left-handed starting quarterback. He was also elected president of his senior class. In 1933, he received a Master's degree in Speech Education from Columbia University.