Legendary former Yankees radio play-by-play voice John Sterling revealed on Sunday that he suffered a heart attack in January.
Sterling, 87, announced his retirement from play-by-play in April 2024 before making a brief return to call postseason and World Series Yankees games for the Yankees that October. In 2025, Sterling began hosting a weekly radio show, The John Sterling Show, for 77 WABC Radio (770 AM) in New York, and the show’s last episode was on Dec. 27.
On Sunday, Sterling made an appearance on WFAN, the station for which he called Yankees games. He told WFAN host Rickie Ricardo that he had a heart attack in January and offered an update on his health status.
John Sterling shares a health update with Rickie Ricardo after suffering a heart attack in January.
Sending our best to a WFAN legend 🙏 pic.twitter.com/eHDaJANSc6
— WFAN Sports Radio (@WFAN660) February 22, 2026
“Everything is, I say, good,” Sterling said. “For people who don’t know, there isn’t any reason to hide it; at the beginning of January, I had a heart attack. That’s fine. The heart is fine. Sometimes, it affects your legs, and it’s affected my legs. So, I’m kind of waiting for the force to leave my legs, and I can get back out there. But I’m very fortunate, and all things are good.”
“I have four children, and I couldn’t have done anything without them,” Sterling continued. “They have been sensational in taking care of me. They’ve taken over all phases of my life.”
Sterling added that he’s had a great time watching sports, including the Winter Olympics.
“And as far as sports are concerned, isn’t it great to be a sports fan?” Sterling said. “Here I am kind of laid up in bed a lot, and the Winter Olympics were great. And I watched the basketball, and the hockey, and I’ve blessed the fact, since I’ve been a little boy, that I’m a sports fan.”
Sterling was the radio voice of the Yankees for 36 years. He called 5,060 consecutive Yankees games from 1989 to 2019. He was revealed to be a finalist for the Baseball Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award in 2024 and 2025.
Dave Sims replaced Sterling as the radio voice of the Yankees ahead of the 2025 MLB season.
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