11/17/24
October 26, 2004
Robert Merrill dies at 85 (or possibly 87.): [more inside]
Thanks for the clarification. Seems like only New Yorkers will know who this bloke is. I was all ready to say "The guy retired from The Met, not the Mets." ;) I am not a New Yorker, and so I had no clue. But condolences to those who were touched by this man's voice while he was alive.
posted by scully at 09:28 AM on October 26, 2004
i was a bit hesistant to post this since he's a local guy. but i figured, what the fuck. unfortunately one of the last memories i'll have of him is his cameo in anger management.
posted by goddam at 09:35 AM on October 26, 2004
Even us lowly folks out here in the heartland know about Robert Merril. especially if you follow opera even a little. We have seen this happening all over baseball. The older generations of announcers, broadcasters. singers etc is passing away. You begin to wonder if things will ever be the same today!....
posted by daddisamm at 10:30 AM on October 26, 2004
Who the hell was Robert Merrill? He was a noted opera singer who sang the national anthem on opening day, old-timers day, the world series and any other important days at Yankee Stadium. It wasn't just on big days. He really loved the team and the game and -- according to a story my dad told me, which may or may not be true -- he'd wangled a deal with the Yanks that he'd sing the Banana whenever they'd let him into the game. So he turned up on a lot of perfectly ordinary days -- less and less as they played fewer day games, but the story is that he loved going to the ballpark in the afternoon and then to work -- singing -- at night. I got to see him sing on one of those perfectly ordinary afternoons once, sometime in the late '70s, when Luis Tiant was pitching a great game and his team didn't get him one damn run. Another good one gone.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 11:33 AM on October 26, 2004
he's my favorite kind of yankee fan.
posted by danostuporstar at 11:48 AM on October 26, 2004
he's my favorite kind of yankee fan. wait, wait, lemme guess...would that be a dead yankee fan?
posted by goddam at 12:50 PM on October 26, 2004
Who the hell was Robert Merrill? He was a noted opera singer who sang the national anthem on opening day, old-timers day, the world series and any other important days at Yankee Stadium. A recording of his version of the song used to be played at games he did not attend. He apparently died while watching game 1 of the world series Saturday night. (Maybe he heard Steven Tyler and his heart just couldn’t take it anymore.) Here’s a Village Voice article from a few years back about the triumvirate of Stadium fixtures. With Eddie Layton retired and Merrill now gone, Bob Sheppard is all we have left.