Legendary radio announcer John Sterling has passed away at 87 years old from a heart attack. Sterling worked with the Yankees from 1989 to 2024, commentated 5,426 regular season games along with 225 postseason games and was one of the most beloved broadcasters in the sport. He gained recognition for his home run calls for each Yankee’s player and his iconic saying “The Yankee’s win!” after each victory. He was the broadcaster for five Yankees World Series titles in 1996, 1998-2000 and 2009 along with iconic Yankees moments such as Aaron Judge’s 62 home run season and both David Wells and David Cone’s perfect games.
Sterling was born on July 4, 1938, as John Sloss on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. He changed his name to Sterling after dropping out of Columbia University to begin his broadcasting career. Sterling would get his first broadcasting gig with the Baltimore Bullets in 1970. He also became the radio announcer for Morgan State University from 1971 to 1978. After working two seasons for the Bullets, Sterling moved to New York and became a talk show host with WMCA radio. He would also continue to broadcast for many teams, including the New York Knicks, the New Jersey Nets, the New York Islanders and others. His longest stay with a team prior to the Yankees would be with the Atlanta Hawks, in which he called their games from 1981 to 1989 while also working with the Braves from 1982 to 1987.
In 1989, Sterling joined the Yankees broadcasting team on WABC radio. He would proceed to call Yankees games for over three decades. This included calling 5,060 consecutive games from 1989 to 2019, calling the first every MLB game in Europe in 2019 and being the host of Yankeeography on YES Network from 2002 to 2013. Sterling grew his fandom by creating signature home run calls for each member of the Yankees. This included “an A-Bomb for A-Rod”, “a Stantonian blast,” “Bernie goes boom! Bern, baby, Bern” and many others. His first ever custom home run call was in 1989 for Yankees outfielder Roberto Kelly where he said, “Kelly goes to town!,” and a few years later he had one for every Yankee. He was also known for his iconic call after Yankee’s wins where he would energetically say “The Yankee’s Win!” He was loved, not just by Yankee fans, but by baseball fans in general for both his great commentary and his lovable personality. His longtime partner with the Yankees Suzyn Waldman knew how passionate Sterling was for the Yankees, both on air and in his everyday life.
“There will never be another person like that, to have that kind of love for a team and that kind of love for his fan base,” Waldman said.
Outside of the booth, Sterling was married for 12 years before getting divorced in 2008. He had four children, a daughter and a pair of triplets born in 2000. He was a resident of New Jersey, living in both Teaneck and Edgewater and passing away in Englewood. Sterling won 12 Sports Emmy Awards during his career and was given the Pride of the Yankees award in 2025. Sterling, beyond his awards and career, was a vibrant person to be around. Many described his personality as youthful and expressive as he always seemed to have energy wherever he went. The Yankees will honor Sterling for the rest of this season by wearing a patch on their jerseys to honor his legacy. While he may no longer be with us, many will remember the legend that was John Sterling.
