One Moment With “The Voice”

For baseball fans, most notably generations of Yankees fan, the golden voice of Bob Sheppard was as much a part of the Yankees Stadium experience as hot dogs, a cold beer and Cracker Jacks.

But the booming voice of Sheppard, called by some “The Voice of God,” has been silenced. The Baldwin, Long Island, resident died at the age of 99, and with him goes a another piece of Yankees history and someone who has watched the Bronx Bombers for decades spanning Joe DiMaggio to Derek Jeter.

As a kid — even one like me that was raised a Mets fan thanks to relatives who grew up in Brooklyn rooting for the Dodgers — my friends and I would always try to emulate Sheppard’s voice with little success during whiffle ball games. No matter which New York baseball team you rooted for, there was no mistaking the voice booming from the speakers at the old ballpark in The Bronx.

Some years later, I was working as a reporter for the Long Beach Herald when my brief moment with “the voice” would come. It was August of 1995 and Mickey Mantle had just died. Given The Mick’s own impact on a generation of Yankees fans, some colleagues were working on a local angle story on Mantle’s passing. An editor (Jeff Kleuwer) for a sister paper had called Sheppard to get his thoughts on Mantle.

While sitting at my desk working on what was a typical day, our receptionist was out to lunch when the phone rang. “Good afternoon; The Herald,” I said upon picking up the handset. “Jeff Kleuwer, please,” said “the voice” on the other end of the call. Usually I would ask the caller his/her name, but this voice needed no introduction.

For a second I froze, before I asked, “Is this Bob Sheppard?” full-well knowing the answer.

“Yes,” he responded politely, in that voice that sounded just as good even without the echo from the stadium.

“Please hold; let me get Jeff for you,” I said.

I put the call through and my one moment with “The Voice” was over.

Rest in peace, Mr. Sheppard. I can only image the hall of fame lineup he’ll be introducing tomorrow.