Former Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Hawks announcer dies at 87

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - John Sterling, who broadcast games for both the Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Hawks in the 1980s, has died at the age of 87.

Sterling was best known, according to Major League Baseball, for broadcasting New York Yankees games for more than three decades.

Born John Sloss on July 4, 1938, Sterling grew up on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. He called Atlanta Hawks’ games from 1981 to 1989, and Atlanta Braves’ games from 1982 to 1987. He also hosted sports talk for WSB radio in Atlanta.

Sterling joined the New York Yankees’ broadcast team in 1988.

“In Atlanta, Dominique [Wilkins] was the star of the Hawks and he’d hit a great shot, and I’d say, ‘Dom-in-ique is mag-ni-fique,’” Sterling recalled, according to MLB.com . “And those things kind of caught on with the Yankees.”

Some famous Sterling phrases

• “Bernie goes boom! Bern, baby, Bern!” for Bernie Williams
• “It’s a Jeter jolt!” for Derek Jeter
• “It’s an A-bomb from A-Rod!” for Alex Rodriguez
• “The Giambino!” for Jason Giambi
• ”A thrilla from Godzilla!” for Hideki Matsui

John Sterling’s career at a glance

• He was a longtime American sportscaster best known as the radio voice of the New York Yankees (1989–2024).
• He also worked for NBA’s New York Nets; the NHL’s New York Islanders, and the Baltimore Bullets of the American Basketball League.
• He called 5,060 consecutive Yankees regular-season games (1989–2019) and 211 postseason games.
• He retired in April 2024, after 35 seasons with the Yankees.

Sterling came out of retirement to call Yankees games during the 2024 postseason.

Sterling had undergone heart bypass surgery this winter and after the procedure was attended by health care aides at his home in Edgewater, New Jersey.