Yankees a no-show at Bob Sheppard's funeral, an act George Steinbrenner wouldn't have stood for

It was just too bad that not a single player whose name Sheppard introduced, ever so properly and eloquently, over 57 years as the Yankees' P.A. announcer, was among those paying their final respects to the "Voice of God." Even if one player - certainly one among the former players employed by the team for this very purpose - would have shown up, it would have provided the touch of class George Steinbrenner always made sure to exhibit in these circumstances.

It's been a tough week, no doubt, for the Yankees, who are mourning the loss of Steinbrenner, which came on the heels of Sheppard's death on Sunday. Sheppard, especially, probably would not have felt slighted that no player, past or present, was among the hundreds paying their respects at the Church of Saint Christopher in Baldwin, L.I.

As his son, Paul Sheppard, put it: "My father was a man of such humility. He could not understand why anyone would want his autograph."

And besides, the Yankee delegation that was there, led by GM Brian Cashman and Senior VP of Marketing Debbie Tymon, was made up of the behind-the-scenes front office folks Sheppard knew the best. About the only times he ever fraternized with the players, other than asking the new ones how they wanted their names pronounced, was at Sunday Mass at Yankee Stadium. Cashman, who admitted to being "a nervous wreck" at having to deliver a eulogy for the greatest public speaker of them all, talked about how Sheppard would do the Sunday readings before home games.

"One day, he asked for volunteers to take his place," Cashman said, "and you never heard such a silence in that room.

"Bob will not be remembered as a good teacher of speech. He'll be remembered as a great teacher of life."