Sujin Waldman will never forget the day she met John Sterling.
It was 1987, the year WFAN debuted as the world’s first 24-hour sports talk radio station. Waldman was working to provide breaking news on an afternoon show that was supposed to be hosted by Pete Franklin when Franklin suffered a heart attack. During his absence, the station had weekly guests.
One Monday, Sterling appeared as host. After polite greetings, Sterling walked to the microphone and did something that Waldman found odd. Rather than sitting in front of the microphone, he performed standing throughout the show, grabbing the microphone and raising it to his mouth, holding his right ear with his right hand.
4 hours in total. At his feet. Cup his ear.
“I said to myself, ‘What an interesting person this person is,'” Waldman recalled this week.
The two had an immediate chemistry.
“He talked to me and we updated each other, and as the weeks went on I realized we knew the same sports references, the same Broadway shows,” she said. Ta.
These days, there may be no one closer to Sterling than Waldman. Waldman was saddened but encouraged by the 85-year-old New York City legend’s decision to retire, announced Monday. The two were in their 20th season together in the Yankees’ booth, with Waldman serving as an analyst. They had been friends long before that.
Waldman, a legend in her own right as a trailblazer for women in sports, had known for days that Sterling was retiring after 36 years as the Yankees’ mainstay. Her accomplishments were highlighted by five World Series wins and dozens of wins.Each of her victories was accompanied by a home run call and an exclamation point: “Hooray, Yankees!” won!”
But that didn’t make it any easier for her.
“Nothing can ever be the same,” she said. “Life goes on. We all go on. But nothing will ever be the same.”
On Saturday afternoon, the Yankees will honor Sterling during a pregame ceremony at Yankee Stadium.
The Athletic We asked some of those who know Sterling well about their fondest memories with the iconic broadcaster.
John Sterling (left) and Michael Kay (right) attended Old Timers Day at Yankee Stadium last September. (Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire, via Associated Press)
Michael Kay, YES Network play-by-play announcer
- Sterling liked to sleep late on the street. So when Kay walked to breakfast in the Westin Seattle lobby to meet Sterling, she was surprised to find him rushing across the lobby wearing a jersey and carrying three dozen roses. It was the mid-1990s.
“John” Kaye, who called matches against Sterling on the radio for 10 years before turning to television, said, “What are you doing?”
Sterling didn’t hesitate.
“I met the girl I’m going to marry, kid!” Mr. Sterling said.
He was on his way to meet his future wife Jennifer. The two have been married for 12 years. They had four children.
Then there was Game 2 of the 2000 American League Championship Series against the Seattle Mariners. Earlier in the day, Stirling was at the hospital to witness the birth of her triplets (two girls and one boy). Later that night, the Yankees won 7-1 and he boarded the team’s chartered plane to Washington.
Inside the jet, third baseman Scott Brocious saw Sterling. he was confused.
“John,” Brosius said, “didn’t you just give birth to triplets? Why are you on a plane?”
Sterling shrugged.
“There’s nothing more I can do.”
Sweeney Murthy, former WFAN producer and reporter (1993-2022):
Murti was producing Mike Francesa’s Sunday morning show the day after the 1996 World Series ended. Although it was football season, most of the conversations and phone calls were about the Yankees, as they won his first title in 18 years.
Murthy remembers a father calling to say his 2-year-old son was impressed by Sterling. He was hesitant about letting his young child broadcast with Francesa.
“He’ll have his kid make the calls and make the calls for me. I laughed. It’s pretty good,” Murthy said. “I told Mike during the commercial and let him do it. He said, ‘Let me put it on.’ Mike was in a good mood because the Yankees had won the World Series.
“I vividly remember his name was Nate, and I remember this perfect little voice saying, ‘Hi!'” That’s a long way off! It’s gone! Mike is giggling in the air. That kid hit it perfectly. ”
What impresses Murti is that Nate is now 30 years old. If he grew up a Yankees fan like his father, Sterling would be the soundtrack of his life.
“I think John’s call is being emulated by many,” Murthy said. “That’s such a great compliment and form of flattery. I think of it this way: Vin Scully is the greatest baseball broadcaster of all time, but who would make Vin Scully’s calls while playing Wiffle ball in the backyard or on the playground?” You can’t believe there are kids out there. It’s almost impossible to be like him. Can you imagine how many kids grew up playing Wiffle ball in the backyard and yelling, “It’s expensive!” ? It’s far away! It’s gone! ? ”
From 2014 to 2022, Murthy sat next to Sterling in the bottom of the ninth inning while awaiting postgame debriefing. During the crucial final moments of the game, Sterling leans back in his chair, then leans forward, fingers on his earphones, living and dying moment by moment.
Sterling loves theater. This was more than just a radio show to him. The booth was his stage.
“This guy came into the press box wearing a suit to broadcast the game on the radio, and he was better dressed than most TV people,” Murthy said. “This is a performance. He’s not just talking on the radio. He’s performing. I think he just lived it. He knew this was entertainment for us. I know. He played it for us, just like any great stage actor would.”
In Judge’s first at-bat in the major leagues, he hit a solo home run. It was August 13, 2016. Judge’s parents, Wayne and Patty, watched in the stands as their son’s ball traveled an estimated 416 feet and smashed into the middle-order hitter’s eye.
One look wasn’t enough for Wayne.
“I know my father played it over and over again,” the judge said on YouTube. Each time, Judge said, it was a home run call for Sterling.
“My parents love listening to the radio and watching Soo-jin and John go back and forth, and going back and listening to historic home runs and important moments in Yankees history,” Judge said. “John will be missed when he’s gone.”
Judge added that Yankees players love to discuss how Sterling makes up home run calls whenever someone is new to the team. Judge said he remembers his teammates debating what Sterling would make next.
“He was very resourceful and smart,” the judge said. “It’s a home run call that he came up with.”
Players will never guess it correctly.
“He’s always outsmarting us,” the judge said. “He comes up with great things that the fans love, and we as players love it too. John is a big part of this family.”
Long before Sterling became famous for his bizarre home run calls, he was just as bizarre when he was broadcasting New York Nets games on the ABA.
“His play with the Yankees was funny, but great. We loved him. He was our guy,” Rosenhaus said. “If I didn’t know the name of the team, I wouldn’t know what he was talking about. Back in the ABA days, their team was phenomenal led by Dr. J. His play-by-play was “The Doctor had it at the top of the key, low down to the Whopper, outside to Super John, BT.” Express has it now…’ If you didn’t know who these guys were, you’d be lost. He thought everyone knew their nicknames. He was really funny and we loved him. ”
Rosenhaus, who joined Cleveland’s broadcast team in 2007, decided midway through high school that he wanted to follow in Sterling’s footsteps. That same season, when the Yankees faced the then-Indians for the first time, he was finally able to thank Sterling for his guidance. Of course, Sterling had his story with the Nets.
“He would say, ‘I was playing because I was down in practice today and needed an extra player,'” Rosenhaus said. “He was going to incorporate it into the broadcast in some way. It was the Nats. When they joined the NBA, the price of admission to the NBA was too high for him, the owner of the team, so he brought Dr. J to the Sixers. They were a 20-win team in the NBA for the first few years, but John Sterling made it seem like they were on the verge of the playoffs. It was a bad losing streak, but he made them have fun.”
Sterling also enjoyed WMCA’s sports talk show, which started in 1971.
“He would hang up people’s phones and scold them, saying, ‘You don’t know what you’re talking about!'” Rosenhaus recalled. “That was amazing. The next day we went to school and asked, ‘Did you hear what John Sterling said last night?’ Back then, there wasn’t much talk about sports, but he was on a roll and tearing people to shreds. ”
Aaron Boone, Yankees manager
Boone spent half a season with the Yankees in 2003, but didn’t get to know Sterling well until he took over as manager six years ago. Sterling often sat by Boone’s side on the team bus and jet. Sometimes, Boone said, he would offer “a word of encouragement, a kind word, or just share his thoughts.”
“He was very kind to me,” the manager said.
Boone’s father, Bob, played in the majors for 15 years. His grandfather Ray played 13 seasons in the big leagues. He grew up as a baseball-obsessed kid in a baseball-obsessed family. He said he sleeps with Philadelphia Phillies radio broadcasts playing next to his bed.
“I listen to baseball on the radio and have a romantic relationship,” he said.
Boone especially loved listening to Sterling’s stories as they became friends. He found himself searching social media after games to hear how Sterling called specific home runs and key moments.
“His voice is legendary,” Boone said.
But Boone’s favorite moment came at a questionable moment for Sterling. Boone laughed as he recalled the time a foul ball hit Sterling in the head, bleeding his forehead, during a Yankees-Red Sox game at Yankee Stadium last June. Sterling remained to call the match.
“Wow! Wow! Wow! I was really shocked,” Sterling said at the time. “I didn’t know they would come back so much.”
Boone loved it.
“That’s John,” said the manager. “There’s a youthful exuberance to the way he does things that’s unique to John, and he’s unapologetically John, and I appreciate that about him.”
Steve Holman, Hawks radio caster
One of Sterling’s closest friends was Holman. The two have known each other since they called Hawks games together in the ’80s. After Sterling left for the Yankees job, Holman became the team’s primary radio broadcaster in 1989, a job for which he did not actually audition.
John Sterling and Steve Holman have been the Atlanta Hawks’ only play-by-play announcers since 1981. (Courtesy of Steve Holman)
Holman has many fond memories of Sterling over the years. Steve’s late son, Steve Jr., would ride his wagon into the hills of Alpharetta, Georgia, to fetch beer for the couple while they lounged at the local pool. Whenever the Hawks play the Knicks or Nets in New York, Holman and Sterling can be found at steakhouses (Sterling loves Keene’s) and traditional Italian restaurants.
“All these years later, he’s still one of my best friends,” Holman said. “At least once a week he calls me or I call him. I just love him. He’s the closest friend I’ve ever had in this industry. We are We only worked together for three and a half years in Atlanta, but we’ve remained close all these years. My kids call him Uncle John and he said to me the other day, “I’m always available.” “Now!” he said.
If anyone knows about the grind, it’s Holman. Since he took over as Sterling’s manager in 1989, he has called 2,999 consecutive games. The past few years have become too painful for Sterling. He can now live at his own pace.
“He’s obviously happy,” Holman said of Sterling. “The piano is off his back. It’s hard to move around and have to get up and take a shower and get to the ballpark at 2:30 or 3 o’clock. He got all his kids into college. That’s what he wanted. It’s nice to be celebrated while he’s still alive. I think we can all hope for that. That’s what I like about him. I’m happy that he’s happy.”
(Top photo of Sterling and Waldman in January 2020: Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
