When you put New York and P. A. announcer in the same sentence, the first name to pop to mind is Bob Sheppard at Yankee Stadium, then possibly John Condon at Madison Square Garden.  But Kevin VanMeter is the hidden gem that’s been doing his craft and has been a vocal leader for P. A. announcers for the last 50 years.

Haggerty:  Croton man a familiar voice in sports

If you name any large sports venue in the New York City area, VanMeter has been there and done that.  Madison Square Garden, he’s done it.  Giants Stadium, first down!  The old Brendan Byrne Arena, it’s a Devil of a place.  Nassau Coliseum, he’s been to the old barn.

VanMeter has been the voice of the annual NYPD-FDNY hockey game which has had it’s mentions on popular TV shows such as Blue Bloods and even took a turn for the nasty due to a video that went viral from a scuffle a few years ago.

He has also announced at a handful of local high schools in a variety of sports, he announced Joe Frazier’s last appearance at MSG, filled in for the Islanders, and he helped usher in the age of music into announcing.

VanMeter’s early work when the internet had just started to enjoy it’s boom was one of the inspirations for SportsAnnouncing.com.  Thank you Kevin for all that you’ve done for announcing, and for the help you’ve given us over the years!