Bob Sheppard's Baldwin wake: 'NY was crying today'

As some of the Yankees prepared for the 2010 All-Star Game, in Anaheim, Calif., rain pounded against the Fullerton Funeral Home in Baldwin, where a private wake was held to honor Bob Sheppard, the fallen voice of the franchise.

"He was a true all-star, and fittingly enough, today is the All-Star Game," said Joe Birrittieri of East Meadow. "Yankee games are never going to be the same."

Birrittieri was one of more than 100 people who visited the funeral home between 2 and 4 p.m. Tuesday to pay their respects to the man whose voice commanded Yankee Stadium for 56 years and was referred to by Reggie Jackson as "the voice of God." Sheppard was 99.

"It's a very sad day in New York," said Louis Reyes, a Baldwin resident and former neighbor of Sheppard. "New York was crying today. Just look at the rain and everything. We lost an icon."

While few members of the Yankees' organization attended the wake, the presence of the franchise certainly was evident. Several visitors entered the funeral home wearing Yankees shirts and jewelry. Some of the cars in the funeral home parking lot and on neighboring streets had custom-made Yankees license plates.

Inside the funeral home, there even was a flower arrangement in the shape of the Yankees' "NY" symbol, several visitors said as they were leaving.

One of the organization's representatives in attendance was former PR man Rick Cerrone. Cerrone, the team's senior director of media relations from 1996 to 2006, met Sheppard in 1977 and became a friend.

"What a treat it was to be in a circle with him," said Cerrone, who recalled first hearing Sheppard's voice at a Yankees game when he was 8 years old.

Another notable attendee was Lou Carnesecca, the Hall of Fame coach of St. John's men's basketball team from 1965-70 and 1973-92. Sheppard was a professor of speech at St. John's, his alma mater, and served as the public address announcer at the university's basketball and football games for many years.

"Things like this are beyond comprehension," Carnesecca said as he walked out of the funeral home. "It's a great loss to the sports world."

"Bob was the only one who could say my name right," Carnesecca added.

While the attendees were at the wake to pay their respects to the Sheppard family, many said their prayers also were going out to the Steinbrenner family. George Steinbrenner died yesterday, just two days after Sheppard passed away.

"I was shocked," Sally O'Brien, a close friend of the Sheppard family, said of learning that Steinbrenner had died. "I can't believe it. The two of them so close together. It's a very sad time."