Beloved New York Yankees announcer John Sterling dies at 87

Steve Gardner, USA TODAY Mon, May 4, 2026 at 1:15 PM UTC

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1 / 0Sports figures we lost in 2026Barret Robbins, football, 1973-2026

John Sterling, the longtime radio and television voice of the New York Yankees, has died at the age of 87, WFAN radio announced on Monday, May 4.

For 36 seasons, Sterling teamed with Michael Kay and then Suzyn Waldman in the broadcast booth, calling the team's run of four World Series championships in five years between 1996 and 2000, ending each victory with what became his signature call: "YANKEES WIN! THAAAAAAAA YANKEES WIN!"

Sterling was also a fan favorite for his signature home run calls. They frequently began with, "It is high. It is far. It is GONE!" Then he would follow with a personalized version for each Yankees player.

For Alex Rodriguez: "An A-bomb. From A-Rod!"

Aaron Judge: "A Judgian blast!" or "All rise, here comes the Judge!"

Gleyber Torres: "It's Gleyber Day!"

Curtis Granderson: "The Grandy Man can!"

Hideki Matsui: "A thrilla from Godzilla!"

Bernie Williams: "Bern, baby Bern!"

Robinson Cano: "Robbie Cano, don't ya know!"

Longtime Yankee announcer John Sterling is honored during a pregame ceremony in recognition of his retirement before a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium on April 20, 2024.

A native New Yorker, Sterling called New Jersey Nets basketball and New York Islanders hockey games starting in 1971. He moved to Atlanta in 1981 and began calling Braves baseball and Hawks basketball games.

While he was widely known for his work on national telecasts and on TBS, he became an institution with the Yankees.

Sterling took over in 1989 as Yankees play-by-play announcer on WABC radio. He worked with Kay for 10 years before Waldman joined him as color analyst.

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At one point he called 5,060 consecutive games − including every single one in the Hall of Fame careers of Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera.

APPRECIATION: John Sterling steps down as Voice of the Yankees

As his health began to decline, Sterling retired from his broadcasting role on April 15. 2024.

However, he briefly came out of retirement to call the Yankees' 2024 postseason run.

In total, Sterling called 24 Yankees postseason trips, eight World Series appearances and five World Series titles.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: John Sterling, longtime New York Yankees play-by-play man, dies at 87

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