Anthony Fenech writes about the Yankees current P.A. man today -
Paul Olden has two championship rings.
One is a large, diamond-studded ring encrusted with 113 stones. The other is a smaller ring with one large, single diamond in the middle.
On a spring day in the Bronx, Olden, the New York Yankees’ public address announcer, sat in his office in Yankee Stadium and reflected on the journey between the two rings.
“It was a long wait,” he said. “But I’m proud of the long wait it’s been.”
The first ring is a 2009 New York Yankees World Series championship ring. The second is a 1986 Las Vegas Stars Pacific Coast League championship ring.
“I cherish that one and I still do,” he said of the first ring. “It will always have a special place in my heart, and I’m happy it was in Las Vegas.”
From Las Vegas, where he was the play-by-play voice of the Stars for three seasons in the late 1980s, Olden made his way through the professional broadcasting ranks and is the successor to arguably the most legendary public address announcer of all time, Bob Sheppard.
“This is one of the greatest jobs I’ve ever had,” he said over the phone before the Yankees’ second home stand of the season. “There’s no denying that working for a winning team with the Yankees has its benefits on many levels.”
Like his office. He recites the starting lineups and stadium announcements from an office that is “really a suite,” he said.
The 56-year-old Olden has a laundry list of play-by-play stops on his resume, ranging from baseball to football to basketball, radio to television, and from one side of the country to the other.
Since Las Vegas, Olden has been the voice of four American League teams — Tampa Bay, Los Angeles, Cleveland and New York — and has broadcast the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Jets and New Jersey Nets.
And for good measure, he has been the public address announcer for every Super Bowl since 1994.
After a handful of people were shuffled in and out of the P.A. booth as the 99-year-old Sheppard’s health declined in 2008, the Yankees awarded Olden with the job last season.
“The fact that I was a known quantity and established here in New York helped,” he said.
But so too did his relationship with Sheppard. They met in the 1990s, when Olden was broadcasting Yankees games on television. He said they still talk every couple of weeks.
“He enjoys talking and I enjoy hearing him laugh and his stories,” Olden said. “I’ll tell him something funny from the booth or someone that’s asking about him, and he’s always happy to hear that.”
Olden is comfortable outside of the play-by-play booth these days, enjoying the time at home to explore some of his hobbies, which include a photography blog he likes to update.
“I think at this point in my career, this is what I’m supposed to be doing,” he said.
Click here to see Olden’s blog. He’s got some cool photos posted recently.
