John Sterling - 1938-2026

[metirish]

Rest in peace, always seemed like a decent man.

[Gwreck]

First thing that comes to mind re: Sterling is that he was on the call in the legendary July 4, 1985 game that the Mets won in 19 innings.

 

[metirish]

That's great , did a person in Native American dress greet him at the plate ?? 

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Sad.

If you loved to hate the Yankees he was the best thing that ever happened.

I always thought his in-game calls were a form of singing ("THUH-uhhhh pitch ... a FAST strike... y'know Suzyn...") The HR calls were so cheesy you had to love them, and you know he loved doing them.

 

RIP, Pa Pinstripe

 

 

[seawolf17]

My first year in radio was spent in a tiny radio booth in downtown Rochester, plugging in local commercials during the MFY simulcasts in the summer and fall of 1996. Every game was absolute torture, as you might imagine.

But I know how I felt when Bob Murphy died, so I totally understand MFY fans who are feeling it today.

[MFS62]

I remember when he broadcast the Nets games.

After being a Met station for many years, I remember when I heard that WFAN would be carrying the MFY games, and thought that hearing Jon's voice on WFAN would be like seeing Yassir Arafat at a bar mitzvah.

 

Olevai Shalom

Later

[Edgy MD]

6 hours ago, metirish said:

That's great , did a person in Native American dress greet him at the plate ?? 

Yeah, the Braves had a mascot named Chief Noc-a-Homa.  He had a teepee behind the outfield wall and sent up smoke signals and did war cries and rain dances and stuff.

As they say on the Simpsons, he wasn't a real person, but a composite of several offensive Native American stereotypes.

You are seeing him in sunset there in that shot of the Camp homerun, as The Braves retired him following the 1985 season.

[Cowtipper]

Didn't realize he was so old! Never a huge fan of his style, but you can't say he wasn't iconic.

[Marshmallowmilkshake]

@FMan's "conversations" between John and Suzyn with photos were somewhat inappropriate. But I could never read them at work because I would laugh so hard that my sides hurt. 

 

 

[Edgy MD]

2 hours ago, Cowtipper said:

Didn't realize he was so old! Never a huge fan of his style, but you can't say he wasn't iconic.

I think he made a point of trying keep his age off of the public record.

[Frayed Knot]

Yes, he successfully hid his true age for many years but that eventually got tougher in the internet age. He became father to triplets at the age of 61, something that's capable of killing a 21 y/o!!

Nets games and Braves games were mentioned above. He also did Atlanta Hawks basketball, Islanders hockey for a short time [Islander Goal! Islander Goal! had the same delivery and cadence as Yankees Win! Yankees Win!] and a bunch more as well. I was first aware when he did a sports talk show on WMCA in NYC (570) where he played the role of the acerbic host in the days prior to 24 hrs/day sports stations.

[metirish]

Very nice words from Gary and and Keith 

[Fman99]

4 hours ago, Marshmallowmilkshake said:

@FMan's "conversations" between John and Suzyn with photos were somewhat inappropriate. But I could never read them at work because I would laugh so hard that my sides hurt. 

 

 

I can't believe all the nasty things Suzyn would confess to him. No wonder he died 

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Jakob Berger (@jj.bergss) • Instagram reel

WWW.INSTAGRAM.COM

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2,166 likes, 97 comments - jj.bergss on May 4, 2026: "“A STANTONIAN home run!😃” - The late great John...

 

[Centerfield]

I don’t know much about him. Strictly as an announcer, I thought he represented every bad quality an announcer could have. Annoying sing songy voice. Paper thin analysis. Tons of corny schtick.  The awful puns.  And was more concerned with his brand than painting the word picture. 
 

Every HR was the same. “It is high, it is deep…”. And then you see the replay and it’s a line shot that just eeks over the RF fence. I have no problem with catch phrases. But it’s a problem when you’re throwing them in when it’s not appropriate. 
 

and I get the argument that he was such a parody of himself that he becomes lovable. Nah. Not for me. At the end, he’s more about his brand than the game on the field. Not my cup of tea. 
 

I’m sure he’s a decent guy.  Condolences to his family. And like seawolf said. I was sad when Murph died. So I feel for Yankee fans. 

[Edgy MD]

I just think he was diggable for the same reason that David Letterman loved Regis Philbin.

He would never be hip, or even up to any of your basic standards of what you want in your announcer.  But he very much embodied the standard of an earlier era, was damned committed to that standard, worked hard to maintain it, and wasn't going to let the world passing him by undermine him.

You may not have had much use for the last video store renting VHS tapes in the DVD era, but you had to tip your hat to them as they kept their flag flying.

And as ridiculous as that Sterling/Waldman exchange is above, listen to how willingly and committedly he owns his mistake and throws himself on his sword.

[ashie62]

He was the play by play voice of the New York Raiders WHA hockey team