Bob Sheppard, R. I. P.

Bob Sheppard, whose elegant intonation as the public address announcer for Yankee Stadium for more than half a century personified the image of grandeur one would associate with the New York Yankees, in fact he once was described by Reggie Jackson as the Voice of God, passed away on Sunday at his home at Baldwin, Long Island, New York at the age of 99, three months short of what would have been his 100th birthday.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Yankee Stadium" were the words Mr. Sheppard used when he greeted fans to Yankee Stadium, from the close of the Joe DiMaggio era, through the primes of Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, Reggie Jackson, and Derek Jeter.

Bob was also the PA announcer for the New York football Giants from 1956, when they moved from the old Polo Grounds to Yankee Stadium, until 2005, when, by then, they had spent roughly three decades at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.