Talk:John Sterling (sportscaster)

I find it disturbing the anyone would make reference to craig carton, who is now IN PRISON! in this posting. carton has no talent and was the sole reason I stopped listening to "Sports radio 66! WFAN New York!" I still have not returned to WFAN and more than likely will not ever. — Preceding unsigned comment added by JonJacobAstor (talk • contribs) 12:35, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Catchphrase

 * In October 2003, after the World Series, Yankee haters from all over were saying, "THEEEEEEEEEEEEEE YANKEES LOSE!!!!"


 * ... were they? 71.170.194.55 02:42, 29 August 2007 (UTC)

Is there any evidence of his imitators?
 * Evidence? Not really. I heard a couple times though. --Do Not Talk About Feitclub (contributions) 03:20, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

Is there a reason why the mention of Jim Norton was excised from the article? His rants on Sterling during the O&A show is what brought focus to the problem of the home run calls.

Where is the evidence of Sterling using a fake name? Prove it or it should be removed-it's incredible ridiculous. [SEE Birth Name entry below] Also am I really supposed to believe Sterling lost eye sight and hearing from fireworks? COME ON! That should be removed! It's all incredibly made up BS!68.194.178.84 06:08, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

I'm not sure about blindness/deafness thing, as a google search for that and the Harold Moskowitz thing turns up nothing.

However - why are taglines for Lowe's and Sharp included in "Catchphrases"? A particular way of reading a radio plug does NOT count as a catchphrase.


 * Some of the catchphrases aren't catchphrases, such as references to his mentions of Suzyn Waldman. Also, the calls of incredulity are paraphrases, not catchphrases. He never says them the same way each time. To whoever put those up: If you want to note Sterling's penchant for overstating the unpredictability of baseball, just say he has one in the article. It doesn't take a list of paraphrased "quotations". 67.188.159.75

He says the same 5 things over and over and over and over again. Isn't that amazing? You cannot predict baseball etc etc. They are catchphases. This whole thing is crap and unreliable anyway.


 * A catch phrase is "a phrase or expression that is spontaneously popularized after a critical amount of widespread repeated usage in everyday conversation", according to the article. Something like high-far-gone or "Theeeee Yankees win" is a catchphrase. Something like Sam Rosen's "It's a power play goal!" is a catchphrase, or Ken Harrelson's "He gone" or "You can put it on the board...yes!". Just because a radio personality says something a few times doesn't make it one; nobody associates John Sterling with "Isn't that amazing?" like people associate Homer Simpson with "D'oh!" If you want to include that, how about "Lined, like a bullet, base hit", much more frequently said than "You can't predict baseball". The list of "quotations", as it was, did no justice to the personality - and I suspect that the point of the list was to behave as such. 67.188.159.75 10:19, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

"Where is the evidence of Sterling using a fake name? Prove it or it should be removed-it's incredible ridiculous". To be honest, if it weren't for the BS after it that led to its first removal by someone I'd probably keep it and not be removing it today. I actually think the name and date of birth are probably true; if only because there is NO biographical info on him out there from before his WMCA days, which makes me think he's really trying to hide something about his pre-broadcasting days. That is far from impossible, it is very well known that more nationally known sportscaster Al Michaels did the same thing until facts came out (long denied that he lived in New York until high school always claiming to be a "lifelong California native", refused an award from a Jewish sports association, etc.). As a "fellow Jew" who is also a "Harold M" (though not Moskowitz) I find it laughable if it is true, Jews haven't exactly been uncommon in US sportcasting nor "denied opportunities" in the field during his era (why, most of his past and present broadcast partners like Charlie Steiner and Suzyn Waldman are Jewish and use their real names, OK Moskowitz sounds a little more wordy and ethnic but changing it to John Sterling is QUITE a change, I mean Mel Allen (born Mel Allen Israel simply used his middle name as his stage last name, he could've just been "Harry something"). I would love to see proof on this because I honestly think it may be true and not a prank but in the absence of proof leaving it there just makes Wikipedia look in accurate hairymon 02:52, 17 January 2007 (UTC)


 * The age is accurate if USSearch.com is considered reliable. It has "John Sterling, Edgewater, NJ" as being 71 (or turning 71 during this calendar year).  However, the name issue is a separate matter and, without verifiable proof, should remain removed, IMO.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.188.247.252 (talk) 01:41, 2 July 2009 (UTC)

Birth name
The April 19, 1991 New York Times obituary of John Sterling's father, advertising executive Carl Sloss confirms the above statement that John Sterling was once known, and presumably, was also born, as John Sloss. Additionally confirming is Bill Pennington's 10/1/11 NYTimes article stating that Sterling's father was "Carl, an advertising executive." Mwprods (talk) 04:06, 3 October 2011 (UTC)

--67.247.7.242 (talk) 18:13, 30 May 2010 (UTC)==Harold Moscowitz== This can't be serious. If there is no source it should be delted. If it is true, clearly it is a Jewish name that he Anglicized. He also never appears on any of the extensive lists of Jews in sports.


 * The Moskowitz reference also needs to be removed from the John Sterling disambiguation page, and the year of birth on the disambiguation page should be edited to match the DOB in the article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.188.247.252 (talk) 01:26, 2 July 2009 (UTC)

John Sterling's age is 71 in calendar 2009 for these reasons: 1) The New York Raiders press guide of 1972-73 indicates that Sterling is 34 2) In 1988, Atlanta Hawks announcer Steve Holman overheard Sterling tell someone that he was celebrating his 50th birthday 3) Sheila Loughery, wife of former NBA coach Kevin Loughery who's a friend of Sterling told me that John is older than Kevin.Kevin Loughery is 69 4) In 1971, when John Sterling started doing talk at WMCA, his producer told me John was in his 30's 5) In 1969, Sterling did color on Baltimore Bullets broadcasts with Jim Karvellas. It was after Sterling had a stint as a radio personality in Providence. If he was born in 1948, he has risen quite a bit in his teen years.

Sterling did work in Providence and Baltimore before arriving in NY in 1971.

John Sterling's correct age is now 72 born 7-4-1938. Yes he did work for the NY Raiders and was 34 at the time. In 1989, he was 49 when he was told by the Atlanta Braves he would not be returning as one of their announcers and thus Sterling became the Yankees announcer in 1989. That would make him 72 today. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bradley1938 (talk • contribs) 17:31, 27 July 2010 (UTC)

David Halberstam broadcast sports historian -Author Sports on NY Radio: A play-by-play History —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.2.248.118 (talk) 03:15, 3 July 2009 (UTC) By David J. Halberstam,


 * Special to USA TODAY Read this article below that speaks the truth, Sterling is among those mentioned as his age is revealed.******

(If sportscasting was a young man's game years ago, it is no longer. The number of announcers age 65 or older is growing. Even Dick Enberg, 75, who will call his final NCAA tournament game Saturday on CBS, will continue broadcasting as voice of the San Diego Padres.

Their longevity is a tribute to their talent, but with longevity sometimes come questions.

Dick Stockton, 67, was last season criticized for giving the wrong score on Fox at a critical moment late in a New York Jets game. Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News made the point that like athletes, announcers' skills erode with age.

New York Yankees' radio announcer, John Sterling, 71, has been misjudging fly balls for home runs for years. While national talk show host Dan Patrick said he thinks it's because Sterling is eager for a big call, it could also be his advanced age. )************************

Bad Manners
I have added a section about the reports that Sterling has less than favorable eating habits and also provided a citation, an area which this article could use some help. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.15.63.4 (talk) 16:06, 9 July 2008 (UTC)


 * Notable for an encyclopedia? Doubtful. &#124;EBY&#124; (talk) 02:52, 4 August 2008 (UTC)


 * Especially anything sourced from the New York Post. Just because something can be cited doesn't mean it's appropriate.

Official Blog?
Has it been verified that this is really Sterling's blog? Sure doesn't look like it would be. Looks more like just a fan site. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.200.177.10 (talk) 19:14, 14 August 2008 (UTC)

Style
Are the tags really necessary, as well as the gratuitous exclamation points? I realize that intent is to show that he was shouting at that point, but I think the formatting is a bit overblown. OhNo itsJamie Talk 15:00, 22 March 2009 (UTC)


 * I think they are necessary, to make clear that Sterling was shouting. SNIyer12, (talk), 02:21, 27 March 2009 (UTC)

2003 ALCS CALL
HE DID NOT MAKE IT !!!!!!!!

Sterling starts the call with "Here's Aaron Boone to lead off." Steiner takes over with "His first at bat of the game, there's a fly ball deep to left..." —Preceding unsigned comment added by DoctorRobert23 (talk • contribs) 04:13, 24 April 2009 (UTC)

Worst Broadcaster Ever
It should be fair to add a section on the extensive criticism he receives for being a "Homer" for the Yankees, something that was taboo in the days of Mel Allen. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 132.79.6.16 (talk) 20:32, 21 May 2009 (UTC)

List of Announcing Mannerisms
I wasn't sure whether or not to accept the revision, I did because it wasn't clear vandalism. What are peoples' thoughts on the list of his sayings? It would certainly be better if they were cited.Ryan Vesey (talk) 03:46, 10 April 2011 (UTC)
 * I've removed them before, and I've removed them again. Yes, this is what he does when he announces a game. But how is it suitable for inclusion? Wikipedia is not an indiscriminate list of information, especially an unsourced list. I believe a paragraph could be written to include a mention of a couple of his more "notable" home run calls, but absolutely not without a source. – Muboshgu (talk) 14:52, 10 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Ok, I agree they aren't cited and it would be better if they were. Also, it makes sense that John's page isn't mainly focused on his mannerisms. However, I would like to find a place for them because I do think people enjoy reading, updating them, and explaining them. The mannerisms have been added by many people over the last few years. I know that when I stumbled over this page a few years ago, I really enjoyed reading this list and I would imagine other Sterling fans might feel the same way. Although it's not easy to cite all of his quotes, I think we can look around and verify most of them and remove the rest. Thoughts? Zephyern (talk) 02:25, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

If we're keeping the calls, we should add the following not on the list: Bernie Williams: "Bernie goes boom!" Melky Cabrera: "The Melk-man delivers!" Bobby Abreu: "El come duce" (Mistake for El come dulce, the sweet eater, which was his nickname as a kid). Yhyman (talk) 16:42, 23 August 2013 (UTC) yhyman
 * I didn't realize it had been returned to the article. I deleted them all. It's simply not encyclopedic to include them, especially as adding some leads to adding more. – Muboshgu (talk) 16:44, 23 August 2013 (UTC)

I agree with Zephyern that there should be a place to maintain these calls. There can't be an obvious source of all of them, but I believe audio of them can be found all over the Internet. Perhaps it makes sense to have a separate linked-to page called "John Sterling's Home Run Calls? Yhyman (talk) 21:52, 9 September 2013 (UTC)

I don't know if it's a mannerism, but he forgets he's on the radio. "Oh! Look at that!" What, John? The listener has no idea if a pitch was a curveball or fastball, high or low. Just "He deals. Theeeeeere's a strike." You don't know if a runner went to second or third, if the fielders are putting on a shift, nothing. He forgets that you can't see the game. Worst announcer I've ever heard. And he's been there forever. Carlo (talk) 23:33, 20 June 2018 (UTC)

Nicknames
There should be more than just a mention that he uses nicknames, since it's such a big part of what he does. These are his own silly nicknames for each (and all) players after they hit a homerun. His style is overwrought, heavy-handed and (to my ears) amateurish. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.101.67.143 (talk) 21:05, 31 August 2011 (UTC)

Date of birth
The only source cited for Sterling's date of birth is TV.com, a user-edited site which is not reliable. Sterling's own age has been called into question; he won't confirm any year and a 2011 NYTimes article* suggested that he was in his early 70s, not 63 like this entry would indicate. I would recommend removing the year or at least marking it as being in dispute. White 720 (talk) 01:15, 2 October 2011 (UTC)

Yes--this Bill Pennigton article in NYTimes* 10/1/11 (See Article's Reference #20) reports that Sterling is in his 70s, so he was certainly NOT born as late as 1948.

I added a section on his disputed birth year so as to put this to rest. Please feel free to edit it as you see fit. --Coingeek (talk) 01:23, 26 June 2012 (UTC)

Hallmark's Paw Star Game
Needs to be added: He commentates Hallmark's Paw Star Game with Mary Carillo. --64.151.9.170 (talk) 23:20, 14 July 2015 (UTC)


 * That would be "serves as commentator." "Commentate" is not a word. 68.198.85.24 (talk) 23:30, 21 June 2022 (UTC)

Tino Martinez
Mickeymouse44 (talk) 06:31, 30 August 2017 (UTC)Please remove the name of Tino Martinez from the list of names of Yankees whose numbers have been retired (and presided over by John Sterling). You will find it near the end of the Broadcasting Career section and just before the Announcing Mannerisms section. Martinez never had his number (24) retired; it is presently being worn by Gary Sanchez. My sources are countless video clips that show Sanchez wearing 24 (worn by Martinez).Mickeymouse44 (talk) 06:31, 30 August 2017 (UTC)

ih8g8s (talk) 13:49, 6 July 2019 (UTC) Agreed. Tino Martinez's number was never retired

Semi-protected edit request on 4 July 2018
John Sterling is 80 today! Dan Dungus (talk) 12:32, 4 July 2018 (UTC)
 * Red question icon with gradient background.svg Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. L293D (☎ • ✎) 12:39, 4 July 2018 (UTC)

Hi

There is an error but the article is locked. It claims he does a segment on WCBS-TV When the source clearly states its on WCBS Radio.

Thanks 72.225.134.50 (talk) 21:00, 1 November 2019 (UTC)
 * Fixed, thanks. – Muboshgu (talk) 21:24, 1 November 2019 (UTC)

Birthdate (Again)
In addition to the birthdate July 4, 1938 being discussed earlier in this talk page, the date is also stated as such in Wikiquote at https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Sterling. How much "verifiable" proof is needed to make the change on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Sterling_(sportscaster)?

Birth name (Again)
I have removed John Sloss as the Sterling's birth name per WP:PRIMARY: "Any interpretation of primary source material requires a reliable secondary source for that interpretation." The primary source citation, Carl Sloss's obituary, does not give Sterling's birth name as Sloss; it merely notes that his father's name was Sloss—there are a multitude of scenarios where two family members would not share the same surname. As this falls under the interpretation warning above, it should be removed until verified by a reliable secondary source, per WP:RELIABLE. Rift (talk) 21:08, 28 June 2022 (UTC)

Associated teams
Sterling is listed as only being associated with the New York Yankees, but he also was announcer for the Atlanta Braves from 1982-1987, and the Atlanta Hawks from 1981-1989. This is already included in the "Early Career" section, but should be added to the sidebar. Jetpacmonkey (talk) 19:39, 16 April 2024 (UTC)