My Front Row Seat - Excerpts!

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Former Executive Producer of the New York Yankees on WCBS Radio, Tim Scheld, with assistance from Paul Semendinger, has authored a brand new book, My Front Row Seat.

Beginning with his first taste of journalism in college, Tim Scheld traces a career that took him from small-town Pennsylvania to New York City, where he became an award-winning reporter and later News Director of WCBS Newsradio 880, one of America's most respected all-news stations. His assignments placed him at the center of many defining moments in modern history, including the Oklahoma City bombing, Columbine, TWA Flight 800, the death of Princess Diana, and President Bill Clinton's impeachment. During his near 20-year tenure as news manager at WCBS AM, Scheld led the news staff in coverage of Hurricane Sandy, the Sandy Hook school shooting, and the Covid-19 pandemic. His programming job at 880 also included responsibility for the New York Yankees Radio Network (2006-2011), and New York Mets radio broadcasts (2019-2022).

Excerpts From My Front Row Seat:

On being sent to cover the Oklahoma City Bombing -

Back in 1993, I covered the bombing in the underground parking garage at the World Trade Center in New York City. A few weeks after that blast, I was allowed into the building to view the damage. I remember standing near the edge of a giant crater, staring in amazement at the massive hole that cut through multiple levels of the skyscraper’s basement. As I surveyed the scene in Oklahoma City, the damage here seemed even more ferocious. This blast took down much of the building’s front face, revealing a tangle of concrete, wires, and debris. The exposed portions of the building showed office chairs, desks, and file cabinets perched to the edge. Floors were blown away. I wondered what happened to the people who were at those desks and in those offices when the truck bomb detonated. I could only imagine the horror.

On covering Pope John Paul II arriving for World Youth Day in Denver 1993 –

I remember it like it was yesterday. The opening ceremony took place at Mile High Stadium, the open-air football field that was home to the Denver Broncos. Despite a steady drizzle, the atmosphere at Mile High Stadium that day was electric. There was a roar from the crowd when they spotted the pope being flown in on a military helicopter fresh from his official arrival at Stapleton Airport. The surge of emotion rose to a frenzy minutes later when John Paul entered the stadium and was driven in the popemobile for a lap around the field. It was pure joy for the estimated ninety thousand people there that night, the largest crowd in Mile High Stadium history. Standing in the upper deck with a group of young New Yorkers, I dialed up my cell phone and reported live on WCBS. Reporting in the middle of a joyous crowd like that is exhilarating. Their excitement became mine. It was contagious.

On watching President George Bush throw out the first pitch of Game Three of the 2001 World Series at Yankee Stadium -

The unmistakable voice of legendary Yankee Stadium public address announcer Bob Sheppard cut through the packed house. As a reporter, it was my job to be attuned to moments like this one. I knew what was coming. I turned on my recorder and began describing the scene that was unfolding in front of me. Cheers erupted as the president of the United States was introduced. George Bush stepped out of the home dugout that night wearing a Yankees warm-up jacket. We would later learn that he was wearing a bulletproof vest underneath, just in case. Mr. Bush walked to the pitcher’s mound to a rising crescendo of cheers. Many in the crowd, including those close to me, started chanting “USA, USA.” I got chills as I described the president rearing back and tossing a strike. At that moment, we weren’t thinking about baseball. The cheers were a celebration of the resolve of a wounded city that desperately needed it. To be completely honest, I have zero recollection of the rest of the game.

On working with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman on the Yankee Radio Broadcasts on WCBS-

In the last inning of every home game, Suzyn vacates her seat to head down to field level so she can be ready to interview the “star of the game.” On nights when I was in the booth, John would urge me to come down and sit next to him and watch the final outs from Suzyn’s seat. That allowed me an up-close view of John Sterling’s always-entertaining way of calling the end of a game. When the final out of a Yankee victory was recorded, John would emphatically proclaim, “Ballgame over. The Yankees Win.” Adding with particular enthusiasm, “THE YANKEEEEES WIN!” Hearing this is fun. Seeing it is magic. As he says these words, John always punches the air with his two clenched fists to give it more gusto. The bigger the game, the bigger the show he put on. This has been called the “Sterling Shake.” I was sitting in Suzyn’s seat for the last out of the Yankees’ win in their final game at the old Yankee Stadium in 2008.

…  A year later, I got to sit in Suzyn’s seat for an even bigger Yankee win—Game Six of the 2009 World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. John Sterling’s proclamation of the Yankees reaching the top of the baseball world was a sight to behold. I felt a great sense of pride, like I had been on a special journey, and in a way, I had been, but deep down, I wasn’t even a Yankees fan. I grew up rooting for the other team in New York, the Mets.