Bob Sheppard died today at age 99. I'll do what I can to make this tribute brief and do justice to the man with my words. Although I never knew the man personally, Sheppard meant a lot to me. Many of my experiences that involve sports- and my lifelong fandom of both the Yankees and Giants involve the man. Blessed with a buttery voice and a gift for elocution, Sheppard delighted and amazed fans via his job as a public address announcer for both teams. As Reggie Jackson dubbed him "the voice of god", he was as ingrained in the soul of the fans like any mainstay of either franchise in his nearly sixty year career. Being a speech professor and a poet in his life away from sports, he had a calm, professional weight to his delivery as opposed to the carnival barker to style of today's' announcers. Many will remember him for his much loved line-up introductions for Yankees baseball. However, for me the resounding memory I will carry of him was his presence at near...
The further adventures of a well-lived life explored.