A terrific piece from the NRO’s Daniel Foster on the passing of George Steinbrenner and Bob Sheppard, the legendary voice of the New York Yankees from 1951 – 2007.

It has been a tough week for the Yankee faithful.  First, legendary Stadium announcer Bob “the Voice of God” Sheppard passed over the weekend (I’ll always remember his wonderful palindromes:  ”Now batting, numbah 2, the shortstop, Derek Jee-tuh, the shortstop, numbah 2, now batting.”).  And now the news that The Boss, George Steinbrenner, has died at age 80.

That’s exactly how Sheppard used to introduce the players.  Here’s a great tribute.  I went to my first Yankee game in 1989.  I can’t say that I remember his voice that very first game; I wasn’t even ten years-old yet.  But as I grew up and went back to Yankee Stadium during the 1990s, I came to love that voice.  Listening to Bob Sheppard introduce the starting line-ups, batters, and pitchers was an unforgettable part of going to the Stadium.

As far as the Boss goes, he was a winner and a straight shooter, through and through.  A pure capitalist, he made a lot of people very wealthy and a lot of families very happy.  Some of my fondest memories growing up are days I spent at Yankee Stadium.  It has been a tough week for the Yankee faithful, indeed.  George and Bob, RIP.