‘Icon’: Sports World Unites to Mourn the Loss of Longtime Yankees Announcer John Sterling
FILE – In this Sept. 25, 2009 file photo shows New York Yankees broadcaster John Sterling sitting in his booth before a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium in New York. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun, file)
The world of sports came together Monday to reminisce and mourn the death of legendary New York Yankees announcer John Sterling.
That morning, New York sports radio WFAN announced Sterling died at the age of 87. He began calling Yankees games in 1989 and retired in 2024. As noted in a report from The Athletic, Sterling called more than 5,000 consecutive games before missing one in July 2019.
For Yankees fans, Sterling’s voice is among the first that come to mind when recalling the team’s dynastic years from the late 1990s to the early 2000s. Countless members of New York sports media took to social media to pay tribute to him.
MLB reporter Bryan Hoch called Sterling “the soundtrack to so many seasons,” adding that the 87-year-old was “an absolute treasure.”
ESPN’s Mike Greenberg, a lifelong New York sports fan, referred to Sterling as “one of the truly great showmen our business ever had.”
The morning of Sterling’s passing, WFAN broke the news on-air on Boomer & Gio.
“John was as good as it gets,” co-host Gregg Giannotti said. “Entertained us for so many years. Had so much fun with him. He was just everything that a play-by-play man should be in loving his audience, loving the sport, loving the Yankees, and delivering it in a way that was truly his own.”
The loss of Sterling was also felt in the world of politics. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R) said the announcer was “the incredible voice all Yankees fans will cherish forever and never forget.”
Fox News political analyst Guy Benson called Sterling “the narrator of so many summers” and added that he was involved with several iconic Yankees moments from his childhood.
Other shared similar thoughts.
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