John Sterling, Longtime New York Yankees Radio Broadcaster, Dies at 87

John Sterling, the longtime radio play-by-play voice for the New York Yankees, died at the age of 87. His death was announced on Monday by WFAN Sports Radio in New York and confirmed by the New York Yankees. Sterling broadcast Yankees games for 36 seasons, calling over 5,600 games in total, more than any other announcer for the team.

The New York Yankees posted a statement on X stating: “The Yankees mourn the loss of legendary broadcaster John Sterling. ” Sterling's signature punctuation of Yankees victories included calling the final out of five World Series championships. He broadcast for seven New York Yankees American League pennant winners.

Sterling called 5,420 regular-season games and 211 postseason games during his tenure. He worked 5,060 consecutive games between September 1989 and July 2019. Sterling started broadcasting Yankees games on radio in 1989 and retired in April 2024, just after the 2024 season began.

In 2023, John Sterling was hit by a foul ball during a broadcast and returned to work the day after. Sterling's home run calls often began with the line: “It is high. It is far.

All Rise! ” for Curtis Granderson. ” His game over line was “Ballgame over! ” Additional personalized calls included “Burn Baby Burn” for Bernie Williams, “A Thrilla from Godzilla” for Hideki Matsui, and “Giancarlo, non si può stoparlo” for Giancarlo Stanton.

Sterling won 12 Sports Emmys and was nominated for baseball’s hall of fame. His broadcasting career spanned eight decades and began in the late 1950s at a radio station in Wellsville.

Sterling adopted the surname Sterling because he thought it sounded better than Sloss. He left college at age 19 to take an entry-level job in Wellsville.

Sterling broadcast the Baltimore Bullets games for one season and filled in for Bob Grant on WMCA talk show after the 1971 Attica prison uprising. In 1972, he hosted a nightly sports talk show on WMCA.

Sterling joined the Yankees’ booth in 1989 and was joined by Suzyn Waldman in 2005. In 1989, following the death of his sister Jane, he missed a pair of games—his first with the Yankees. He did not miss a game for 30 years until July 2019, when he skipped a handful of contests due to a health issue.

During the 2020 season, Sterling missed a handful of games with a blood infection requiring a brief hospital stay. He suffered a heart attack in January. One of his most memorable broadcasts was Game 7 of the 1988 Eastern Conference semifinals between the Hawks and the Boston Celtics, which the Celtics won 118-116.

Larry Bird scored 34 points in that game, while Dominique Wilkins scored 47 points. Sterling is survived by his four children: Abigail, Veronica, Bradford, and Derek.