In the final weeks of his life, legendary Yankees broadcaster John Sterling remained the passionate sports fan he always was—right up to the very end.
Just two Fridays ago, Rickie Ricardo's cell phone buzzed with a familiar name on the caller ID. It was Sterling, calling the morning after the first round of the NFL draft, eager to talk football. Despite suffering a massive heart attack in January that left him unable to walk or stand on his own, the 36-year Yankees radio voice never lost his love for the game.
"John wanted to know what I thought about the Eagles' draft pick, then we got around to talking about the Giants," Ricardo, the Spanish-language voice of the Yankees and Eagles, recalled Monday morning, his voice still heavy with emotion.
Sterling's legendary baritone has been silenced. WFAN radio announced Monday morning that the iconic broadcaster, who called Yankees games from 1989 through 2024, had died. Ricardo confirmed the news after receiving a text from Suzyn Waldman, Sterling's longtime radio booth partner.
"We kind of knew this was coming," said Ricardo, also a backup Yankees broadcaster and WFAN talk-show host. "John was back in the hospital on Saturday and things were heading in the wrong direction."
Sterling's final on-air appearance came as a guest on Ricardo's WFAN show. "That day John sounded pretty good," Ricardo remembered. "He was very, very crystal clear. He wasn't slurring his words. He thought he was making progress. He referred to his rehab place as his hotel."
That trademark optimism carried through to his draft-day phone call. "Following sports was what kept John going," Ricardo said. The two lived just four miles apart—Ricardo in Edgewater, Sterling in Englewood—and they'd talk every Monday after Eagles games. Sterling would grill Ricardo about specific plays, asking why the quarterback made certain decisions.
When Ricardo asked why Sterling didn't retire to Boca Raton for the 5:30 buffet like a king, the broadcaster's response was classic John Sterling: "No, no, no! I'm happy just where I'm at." Surrounded by his three televisions, watching every game, he was exactly where he wanted to be.
For Yankees fans who grew up with his unmistakable home run calls and signature catchphrases, Sterling's final days remind us that the greatest sports voices never really stop being fans. Whether in the broadcast booth or at home with three screens, his passion for the game never faded.