John Sterling (broadcaster)

John Sterling was a New York Yankees announcer from 1989 to 2024. He previously covered the Atlanta Braves (1982-1987), NBA's Atlanta Hawks (1981-1989), Washington Bullets and New Jersey Nets (1975-1980) and NHL's New York Islanders (1975-1980). Starting in 2005, he partnered on Yankees radio broadcasts with Suzyn Waldman; he handled the play-by-play duties and Waldman was the color commentator.

He was born and raised on Manhattan's Upper East Side.

In January of 2015, he lost just about all of his possessions when his apartment in Edgewater, NJ burned down during a large fire that destroyed the entire residential complex it was in. Sterling escaped unscathed though.

He is known for being very much a Yankee fan with a number of players throughout the years becoming personal favorites who escape any form of criticism. He has special home run calls for various players (e.g. "A-Bomb... from A-Rod") and loudly states "Thuuh Yankees Win!!!" after every victory.

He had a remarkable string of calling every single Yankees games for three decades since his start in 1989 before finally taking a day off on July 4, 2019 when he did not make the trip to Tampa, FL. He was feeling a little under the weather, and since he was aged 81 by then, the Yankees told him to take it easy for a change. The fact that this was the last series before the 2019 All-Star Game meant he had a full week to get back to full strength. Ryan Ruocco, an announcer from the YES Network, took over for him in his absence. Ironically, a day after Sterling announced he would be taking a short break, Yankees television announcer Michael Kay, who had been his first partner on radio broadcasts, also announced he was taking a short break for medical reasons, to have an operation on a vocal cord.

He was planning to cut down on his work in 2024, in light of his age, by not accompanying the Yankees on all of their road trips, but after just a couple of weeks, he made the announcement that he was retiring immediately, explaining that it was time to do so at 85 and that he was leaving "very, very happy". His final broadcast had been on April 7th, an 8-3 Yankees win over the Toronto Blue Jays. On April 20th, he was honored at a pre-game ceremony at New Yankee Stadium, accompanied by his four children and his long-time broadcast partners Waldman and Kay. He was offered a jersey with number 5,631, representing the number of broadcasts he had made during his career.

Source: 2012 Yankees Media Guide

Further Reading

• Pete Caldera: "John Sterling's streak of calling Yankees games will come to an end Thursday", "NorthJersey.com", The Bergen Record, July 2, 2019. [1]
• Bryan Hoch: "Legendary Yankees radio voice John Sterling retires: 'I leave very, very happy'", mlb.com, April 15, 2024. [2]
• Bryan Hoch: "'Call me lucky': Sterling gives, receives thanks in emotional farewell", mlb.com, April 20, 2024. [3]