FROMMER CLASSIC, IN HONOR OF BOB SHEPPARD

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen and welcome to Yankee Stadium."

We lost another Yankee Great, a Bomber Legend, A Great Man.

On April 11th, 2006 Bob Sheppard missed his first Yankees home opener in half-century, here is what Dr Harvey Frommer had to say then.


By Harvey Frommer
April 11, 2006

It's really not quite a Yankee home game without Bob Sheppard. The long time
"public address voice of the Yankees" threw out his hip at his Long Island home
making him miss his first Yankee home opener since 1950.

But he promises he will be back.

"I am very disappointed," said Sheppard who won't give his age and is thought to
be in his 90s. "I am optimistic that I will return to the stadium for the next
homestand."

It has been said: "Every kid growing up has dreamed of lining up at Yankee
Stadium and having Bob Sheppard announce his name." The New York Yankees public
address announcer has announced many names working more than 4,000 games.
It began for Sheppard on April 17, 1951, Opening Day. The lineup that day was:

Jackie Jensen lf
Phil Rizzuto ss
Mickey Mantle rf
Joe DiMaggio cf
Yogi Berra c
Johnny Mize 1b
Billy Johnson 3b
Jerry Coleman 2b
Vic Raschi p


Favorite Yankee moments for the former St. John's quarterback and first baseman
who works in the sound-proofed little glass both include: Larsen's Perfect Game,
Maris hitting 61 home runs, Reggie's three home runs against the Dodgers and
Mantle's shot almost over the roof.

Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle make Sheppard's all time favorite list.
"DiMaggio's name was symbolic of the early Yankees," Sheppard said, "and "Mickey
Mantle has a nice ring to it because the two 'Ms' make it alliterative. "I just
loved announcing his name. And one day, shortly before he died, we were both
being interviewed on a television program. All of a sudden, he turned to me and
said - right there on the air - that every time he heard me announce his name,
he got goose bumps. And I felt the same way about announcing him."

Hundreds of eulogies have been written and delivered by Sheppard. "They ask me
to do a eulogy. I try to tailor my remarks to the person I am eulogizing.
Thurman Munson, Dick Howser, Billy Martin. Mickey Mantle's seemed to strike a
cord because he died the night before."

Reggie Jackson pointed out that Sheppard's voice sounds like "the voice of God"
as it reverberates through Yankee Stadium. Clay Bellinger made the point that
"the first time I heard it, it was my realization of making the big leagues
after 10 years in the minor leagues. Just think of all the people he's
announced."

"There are three things that are perfectly Yankee - the pinstripes, the logo and
Bob Sheppard's voice," comedian Billy Crystal said. "When I go to heaven, I want
Bob Sheppard to announce me."