Bob Sheppard: Voice of God; Scholar of Speech
Tuesday, April 27, 2010 at 8:27AM 
With the 2010 Major League Baseball season now underway (in full swing, perhaps?), let us pay pay homage to the unsung heroes of America’s pastime — the public address announcers. Their unmistakable, omnipresent, voices fill stadiums and can be heard by scores of fans throughout the country, however, their personal stories often go untold. Throughout the 2010 baseball season we'll take a look at the men behind the MLB ballpark microphones.
There is no one better to kick-off this series than the legendary (former) voice of the New York Yankees, Bob Sheppard, who served as the team's public address announcer from 1951-2007 (officially retiring last year). For over half-a-century the man dubbed "the voice of God" by Reggie Jackson also announced New York Giants' games (for 50 years), profesional soccer at the Polo Grounds, West Point football, and Army-Navy games. But while Mr. Sheppard's iconic career made a mark on Yankee Stadium, Giants Stadium, Shea Stadium, Ebbetts Field, the Polo Grounds, and a dozen other stadiums throughout the country (not to mention a few Seinfeld episodes), he never forgot what brought him there in the first place — teaching and a reverence for articulation.