On The Radio Ep. 14
John Sterling-
If anything has become synonymous with the Yankees' run of success over recent years, it is John Sterling's memorable conclusion to so many Yankees victories. As the radio voice to 162 games a year, plus preseason and postseason, he has called 4,634 official games (4,467 regular season/167 postseason) over the last 28 seasons, without missing even one, making him one of the most recognized-and imitated voices-in all of New York sports.
Sterling joined the Yankees broadcast team in 1989 from Atlanta's TBS and WSB Radio, where he called Hawks basketball (1981-89) and Braves games (1982-87). It marked a return to the town where he first achieved fame, hosting a talk show on WMCA from 1971-78, and calling the Nets (1975-80, and as a fill-in, in 1997) and Islanders (1975-78) for WMCA, WVNJ, WWOR-TV and SportsChannel.
Sterling also previously called Morgan State Football (eight years) and Washington Bullets basketball in 1981. In addition to his seven years at WMCA and a year at WSB in Atlanta, he has also hosted talk shows on WFAN and WABC in New York. He has not missed a broadcast of any kind since the fall of 1981.
As the host of the YES Network's acclaimed Yankeeography series, Sterling has won a total of 12 Emmy Awards since 2003. He has also been honored by the New Jersey Sportswriters Association with its Radio-TV Excellence Award (1999), and was the winner of the 2001 Whitney Radio Jimmy Cannon Award.
In addition, his call of a Jason Giambi home run on WCBS radio in 2002 was voted the "Best Baseball Call of the Year" in a poll conducted by MLB.com. In 2002, Sterling was also honored by the NY Air Awards for being a part of the best play-by-play team on radio.
When he's not in the booth, Sterling serves as a master of on-field ceremonies for major Yankees events, and is well known for his emcee work at City Hall (with his former radio partner Michael Kay) at "Key to the City" ceremonies following Yankees World Series victories.
Sterling enjoys attending Broadway shows and boasts an extensive knowledge of the lyrics to many American pop standards. In 2007, he embarked on his own Broadway venture in a cabaret show titled "Baseball and Broadway" in which he both served as emcee and sang alongside broadway talent.
In 2016, he was inducted, along with Suzyn Waldman, to the New York State Broadcasters Hall of Fame. For the past 23 years, he has been a spokesman for the Leukemia Society of America. He enjoys reading, movies and swimming. He is the proud father of four children: daughter Abigail and triplets, Veronica, Bradford and Derek.
Suzyn Waldman-
Award-winning journalist Suzyn Waldman begins her 31st season either covering or broadcasting the New York Yankees and her 13th season as the Yankees' radio color commentator, having become the first woman to hold a full-time position as a Major League broadcaster.
Waldman has spent more than three decades overcoming all the obstacles that go along with being a female sports broadcaster and has risen to the top of her profession. In 2006, she became a permanent part of the "Women in Baseball" exhibit at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, and in 2009, her World Series Game 6 scorecard was added to the Hall of Fame's collection, commemorating her being the first female broadcaster to call game action in the World Series.
In 1987, Waldman became the first voice heard on WFAN-AM in New York, the first all-sports radio station in the country. She was a mainstay on that station for almost 15 years, creating the job of the radio beat reporter, covering both the New York Yankees and New York Knicks. Her news-breaking reports, exclusive interviews and always original and controversial opinions won her countless journalism awards.
Her accolades include the "International Radio Award" for her live and emotional reporting from the upper deck of Candlestick Park during the 1989 San Francisco earthquake, the 1996 "N.Y. Sportscaster of the Year" Award from the National Sportscasters & Sportswriters and the 1999 "Star Award" for radio from the American Women in Radio and TV. Waldman became a popular talk show host at WFAN and co-hosted the coveted midday slot until leaving WFAN in 2002 to join the YES Network.
The word "first" invariably precedes the name of Suzyn Waldman in every facet of her television and radio career. The first woman to work on a nationally-televised baseball broadcast, Waldman added another first, being the first woman to provide play-by-play for a Major League team, when she started broadcasting New York Yankees games for WPIX, MSG Network and WNYW/FOX5 in the mid 1990s. The first woman ever to host an NBA pre-and post-game show, Suzyn worked in that capacity for the Knicks on WFAN, provided play-by-play for the WNBA on Lifetime TV and was an analyst on St. John's basketball games for MSG and WFAN.
She has been honored by countless organizations, including the Thurman Munson Foundation, the March of Dimes, B'nai B'rith, the Jimmy Fund of Boston and the U.S. Federal Women's Program.
In 2006, she received the first Women's Global Health Award from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at the United Nations. She is a tireless motivational speaker at schools and cancer centers around the country, encouraging young women to pursue their dreams despite any pitfalls they may encounter.
Waldman's life and accomplishments have been the subject of hundreds of magazine and newspaper articles, as well as chapters in children's and motivational books. She has been profiled on the Today Show, CBS Evening News with Dan Rather, ABC's 20/20 and NBC's Dateline. In 2013, 2014 and 2015, Waldman was named one of Radio Ink magazine's "Most Influential Women in Radio."
In 2016, she was inducted, along with John Sterling, to the New York State Broadcasters Hall of Fame. She was also a recipient of the Gracie Award, which acknowledges outstanding team leadership and individual achievement, focusing on women who are making positive change and who further the discussion of what a fulfilling career in media looks like.
A native Bostonian with a degree in Economics from Boston's prestigious Simmons College, Suzyn spent 15 years on the Broadway musical stage and performed in countless night clubs around the world. She is proudest of her two years starring opposite Richard Kiley in Man of La Mancha. She lives in Westchester with her German shepherds, Gatsby and Margo.
