Happy (early) Birthday, Mr. Sheppard (see new update with audio)
Posted by: Sam Borden - Posted in Misc on Oct 12, 2009 
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Anyone that has spent any time around the Yankees over the past half-century or so has a story about talking with Bob Sheppard. I spoke with him several times – for a story or two, of course, but also in the elevator at the Stadium or around the press box – and enjoyed it every time. I just marveled at his deliberation – he seemed to savor every moment, every word, every thought. At a time in my life when things often felt like they were speeding by (shoot, I still feel that way) I was envious of his ability to slow life down to a most elegant pace.
Mostly, I just liked listening to him. In the media dining room at the old Yankee Stadium there used to be a table in the corner that had a paper sign on it that let everyone know it was reserved for Mr. Sheppard. Sitting at one of the tables nearby was a treat because it meant you got to hear “The Voice of God” say things like, “The … carving board …. is … delicious … today. … Thank you.”
Mr. Sheppard doesn’t like to talk about exactly how old he is – and yes, I know there are people out there who have reported it – so out of respect to him, let’s just say: “Happy …. Birthday …. Mr. Sheppard … From … the LoHud … blog. … LoHud Blog.”
UPDATE, 5:48 p.m.: Your attention please … ladies and gentlemen. I am told by a close family friend of the Sheppards that despite numerous reports and web pages which list Mr. Sheppard’s birthday as Oct. 12, it is in fact Oct. 20.
To show my contrition, I am posting the audio of what is believed to be one of Sheppard’s finest moments at the microphone. Have a listen.
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May he get well soon. Yankee Stadium just isn’t the same without Bob on the PA. It feels like it’s missing something.
“The … carving board …. is … delicious … today. … Thank you.”
This had me rolling.
Cheers and health to Mr. Shepherd, class act.
“Happy …. Birthday …. Mr. Sheppard … From … the LoHud … blog. … LoHud Blog.”
Nice touch Sam…
“That … was the incorrect … spelling. Spelling.”
Sorry for the typo, Mr. Sheppard.
Happy Birthday to Mr. Sheppard and best wishes for his health.
May he drink from the fountain of youth that Jorge, Mo, Andy, and Jeter have found.
==========================================================
Still have the yankees roster up.
Fascinating factoids, Jeter, Tex, and Alex are all listed as 6-2, but Tex is listed as 25 pounds heavier than Jeter and Alex is 33 lbs. heavier than Jeter.
Cervelli’s only 23. 23!
Tex is only 29. How is that? Oh, boy, Boston might regret that non-move for years to come. Why pass on the filet mignon because you don’t want to pay for it even though you can afford it?
Cervelli 23, Hughes 23, Joba 24, Robertson 24, Melky 25, Aceves 26, Gaudin 26, Gardner 26, Cano 26, Coke 27, Swisher 28, Tex 29, CC 29.
Talk about younger and more athletic! And a big reason why we’ve been able to stay healthy for the most part. (knock on wood).
Happy Birthday Mr. Sheppard
Laura wrote:
“In Puntos defense the 3rd base coach did give him a very late stop sign.”
Actually, Gardenhire said that Punto didn’t even look at the 3B coach; that he had his head down.
———–
If you watch the replay the 3b coach immediately starts running down the line. When a runner doesn’t see the 3b coach in his normal position he might instinctively think he’s running down the line to give him the run sign. I don’t know, Punto definitely should have been looking at the coach but the coach also should have given him the stop sign before he hit the bag, which he did not. He gave him the stop sign when he hit the bag, but by that time Punto was already thinking it go through so he was probably going into 4th gear.
So I was at the game last night and got interviewed by Japanese media about Matsui. My friend from Japan called me today saying I was on Japan’s national TV yelling GODZILLLLAAA! What an amazing day.
“I don’t know, Punto definitely should have been looking at the coach but the coach also should have given him the stop sign before he hit the bag, which he did not.”
Sounds like there’s plenty of blame to go around, but in the end, it’s on Punto.
What a lovely observation about Sheppard.
He represents a world we have lost – which is why his voice is so affecting. It’s not just the impeccable enunciation, it’s the “presence,” because he’s in the present.
There was a makeup game a couple of years ago between the Yanks and Rays. The video scoreboard was down, there was no sound.
You could “hear” the game for the first time in years. balls smacking gloves, gum snapping, individual voices of players on the field calling to eachother, fans in the sparse crowd yelling to the players (must have been only about 300 people – it was an impromptu weekday day game).
It was the baseball I grew up on.
I hate the video-induced “make noise” and the suffocation of every “unfilled” moment before it has a chance to come into existence and breathe.
Happy Birthday, Bob. You’re an original from a world we have permanently lost.
Ben let me get this straight. You were interviewed by Japanese tv which is pretty rare in itself, then you have a friend in Japan, which right up there in rarity, and that friend just so happened to catch to 2 seconds you were on tv yelling Godzilla. That’s some pretty wild stuff. I bet 10 years from now you are going to find out that your likeness was used on the packaging of a very popular cereal.
im loving francessa
vintage mo
sawing the bat right out of mauers hands
saying jg knows mauer wants to go the other way & mos cutter tails inside preventing that
Happy Birthday, Mr. Sheppard. Yankee games, and Giant games, haven’t been the same without you.
They kept showing Punto’s face in the dugout, he was in shock.
But ultimately, series weren’t lost because of Gomez, Punto, and Holliday. Or a blown call. Took a lot to get to those points.
But Punto and Papelbon did fail to extend their playoff hopes.
Does that make sense? They lost for more reasons than those isolated incidents.
“It was one of those things where the crowd noise got me a little bit,” Punto said. “They were probably just excited that there wasn’t going to be a play at first base, but with 55,000 people screaming, I thought maybe the ball had gotten through. That’s a huge play in that ballgame and you can’t let that happen. That makes it tough to swallow.”
So not only was Punto not looking at the 3B coach, he was letting the crowd noise dictate his decisions. Clearly, this is all on Punto.
Laura, I have to give a little more blame to the coach. If he stays in his box and stops him at 3rd and the ball goes through Punto would score easily anyway because the ball was hit very slowly, plus there are no outs and they have a guy on the mound that they knocked around in game 2.
“Does that make sense? They lost for more reasons than those isolated incidents.”
True, m. People focus on those incidents because they are atypical and stand out more. The reason the Twins lost was a failure to hit with RISP.
Wow, talk about a life well lived:
-He is in the St. John’s University Sports Hall of Fame as an athlete. He earned seven varsity letters from 1928 to 1932, three in baseball as the starting first baseman, and four in football as the starting quarterback.
-He graduated from St. John’s University in 1932 where he was president of his senior class and quarterback for the football squad. He earned his Master’s degree from Columbia University in 1933
-A U.S. Naval Officer in World War II, Lieutenant Robert Sheppard commanded shipboard gunnery crews in the United States Pacific Fleet (1942–1945).
-Plus, he had a great seat for every single great Yankee moment for 50 plus years.
Laura there was no coach to pick up before he got to third, he ran down the line. His head was not down, his coach ran out of his line of vision.
i think ir should only be used in games in the playoffs,ws or when a division title or wc is on the line & only for hr,fair or foul balls
have an official(s) in a room with the monitors & relay the calls down with a headset
“Laura there was no coach to pick up before he got to third, he ran down the line. His head was not down, his coach ran out of his line of vision.”
Gardenhire said his head was down. I don’t remember. I’ll have to look at the play again to see where his head was.
m
Jeter and Alex shrunk. They used to be 6’3″. I thought Tex was shorter than them. Guess weight distribution is deceptive.
My husband is 6’3″ 205-215 lbs and the first time I saw Jeter and Alex were the same height I told him that he had a better shot of losing 15 lbs and having Jeter’s body than gaining 15 pounds and having Alex’s.
Laura, I think Gardy was trying not to throw his coach under the bus, but the video doesn’t lie, he does not give him the stop sign until he hits 3rd base. Maybe he’s seen so many of those balls bounce through that he thought of course this one would as well. He learned a hard lesson that many have learned in the last 14 years. Don’t bet against Jeter in October.
the sox have basically told varitek to go f himself through the media. wasnt boston the class of baseball?
m wrote:
They kept showing Punto’s face in the dugout, he was in shock.
==============
Someone needs to put a side by side graphic of Nick Punto’s face from last night along side Jeremy Giambi’s face from 2001 after the flip play. I bet it’s the same exact expression.
Nicely done, Tom in NJ.
That would make him 99!
Another reason to love Jeter – he appreciates the Yankee tradition so deeply. He’s referred to Sheppard as “as much of a Yankee as anybody.”
I love that Jeter insists on Sheppard’s voice to announce him coming to the plate.
I only wish they’d use Sheppard’s voice for Rivera entering a game…the other guy just doesn’t have the magic, and he doesn’t pause and repeat….”Number forty-two…”
I suppose they’d run into having to pay the equivalent of “voice-over” fees or something, for reviving that call…. not the same without Sheppard announcing Rivera’s entrance into a game at the Stadium
…
pat,
Does your huband have any foreign cousins coming to visit for the holidays?
The average Yankee is 6-1, 214 lbs. (CC and Brett would be your outliers)
(whoa, didn’t know Andy was 6-5, same as Phil Hughes)
Aura, I just watched the play against. The 3B coach was doing his best Larry Bowa impression as he was almost at home plate when that ball was hit. I agree with you that he was too far down the line. That being said, Punto letting the crowd noise dictate his baserunning decisions won’t win him any prizes either.
This relates to the previous post, but I’d like to make the point: does anyone else find the Yankees’ “statements” from George Steinbrenner insulting to the fans and disrespectful of George?
I mean, we’re not stupid–if George were lucid enough to author such clear and articulate statements he would be appearing in public. But, the sad truth is, he’s not, and knowing George, it is because he’s not able to, not because he doesn’t want to.
I don’t think it honors George at all to issue these fake statements from him. And, it insults all of us for the Yankees to pretend that they are from him. They should just issue statements from Hal or Hank, and be up front and honest about George and his condition. We’ll still love him for all that he’s done for the Yankees anyway.
At least Mr. Steinbrenner isn’t fake-Tweeting.
Tom in N.J.
October 12th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
Wow, talk about a life well lived:
-He is in the St. John’s University Sports Hall of Fame as an athlete. He earned seven varsity letters from 1928 to 1932, three in baseball as the starting first baseman, and four in football as the starting quarterback.
-He graduated from St. John’s University in 1932 where he was president of his senior class and quarterback for the football squad. He earned his Master’s degree from Columbia University in 1933
-A U.S. Naval Officer in World War II, Lieutenant Robert Sheppard commanded shipboard gunnery crews in the United States Pacific Fleet (1942–1945).
-Plus, he had a great seat for every single great Yankee moment for 50 plus years.
*****
He was also a speech teacher in my old high school
the 3b coach tried to stop punto too late
the 3b coach wasnt sure the ball was or was not going through or if jeter was going to 3b or 1b or going to hold the ball
if jeter goes anywhere else the runner probably scores
if jeter tried to go to 1b the runner scores & that was what the 3b coach was waiting for
he might of also sent him if jeter went to 3b
he should of been at 3b & not halfway toward home plate & should of stopped punto once he knew jeter had or would of had the ball
but punto needs to make sure that ball gets trough especially with no outs
also the fair ball that was called foul
somebody raised a great point wich i agree with
melky was blocking the view of the line & or the ump was not watching the ball & the line
You can hear Shepard’s voice when you scan your ticket.
“Welcome to Yankee Stadium” he says
But you have to go early otherwise the noise drowns him out.
They should turn up the volume on those turnstiles.
lol. I’m listening to the BS report, with guests Sean Casey and (yankee fan) Jack-O.
Casey joking that he still wants to beat up Al Leiter when he sees him in the mlb.network studio for knocking his ’99 Reds out in the 1-game playoff.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn.....id=4539673
Erica
If you’re around, here’s something for your gossip fix…
http://www.newsday.com/sports/.....-1.1518155
the 3b coach was waiting for 3 things that would of scored the runner & not one of those 3 things happened
jeter goes to 1b,3b or holds the ball
“Someone needs to put a side by side graphic of Nick Punto’s face from last night along side Jeremy Giambi’s face from 2001 after the flip play. I bet it’s the same exact expression.”
If Giambi slides he is easily safe. Guess it is hard to slide with your bottom shot full of roid needle marks.
It would be great if Bob Sheppard could tape some segments of general announcements such as asking fans to stand for the National Anthem, God Bless America, and various other announcements to be permanently used for all games at the Stadium if he is not to return as the P.A. announcer.
He’s as much a part of Yankee legends as anybody.
Having visited him in the old stadium once, you were amazed to see his location..one seat behind a small desk in a glass enclosed booth..no room for anyone else, just him, total concentration. amazing experience. He should be in the Hall of Fame somewhere in Cooperstown.
Thanks for posting that clip. Still get goosebumps hearing his voice. Have any more archived clips of him?
Bob Sheppard’s greatest performances behind the microphone:
1. Munson Tribute
2. Billy’s Back in ’80
3. Seinfeld episode . . . Ladies and gentlemen . . .may I have your attention, please . . . will Joel Rivkin please come to the will-call window . . . Joel Rivkin
How did they ever convince him to do that?
Happy birthday to the Voice of God.
hey his birthday is oct 20. mickey mantle’s birthday was also oct 20. and the only reason i know that is my birthday is oct. 20. i name one of my fantasy baseball teams viva la bob sheppard every year.
Sheppard is 99, btw