John Sterling's 'Islander goal! Islander goal!' call fondly remembered by Jiggs McDonald and Stan Fischler

Decades before there was "Thuuu Yankees win!" there was "Islander goal! Islander goal!"

That was John Sterling's signature call when he announced Islanders games from 1975-78.

The reminiscences after Sterling passed away on Monday were mostly about baseball, and rightly so. But Sterling loved calling Islanders games and certainly left a mark in that franchise’s history.

“John certainly set a standard,” former Islanders broadcaster and hockey Hall of Famer Jiggs McDonald told Newsday on Tuesday in a telephone interview. “His call, his ‘Islanders goal! Islanders goal!’ — I mean, it's been a trademark of the franchise that has stuck with them throughout the entire longevity of the Islander franchise.”

McDonald started announcing Islanders games in 1980; by that time Sterling had moved on to Atlanta. But Sterling’s unique style had already made his mark from afar on McDonald, whose NHL broadcasting career began in 1967 with the Los Angeles Kings.

“He would be probably the forerunner before some of the people like Mike Lange, Randy Moller, others who use catchphrases, brought humor and new things into the game,” McDonald said. “John was the first. And his name did come up.”

In hockey circles, it came up even earlier than that.

RIP to an all-time legend in John Sterling.

Here’s rare sound of him calling Islanders hockey and his famous “Islander goal, Islander goal!” call from 1979. pic.twitter.com/HZ4SKf5moS

— Rob Taub (@RTaub_) May 4, 2026

Stan Fischler, also a hockey Hall of Famer and former Islanders broadcaster, wrote in an email to Newsday: “I first [literally] heard and heard about John Sterling during the 1972-73 season. The brand new World Hockey Association had a team at MSG, the New York Raiders.

“One Sunday afternoon, I was listening to the Raiders game while pushing my son Ben in his baby carriage over the snow-covered Columbia campus and was intrigued by this new hockey voice and how I was attracted to his dulcet tones.

“The Raiders left but, thankfully, not John. He took over the Isles play by play and was an instant hit. Being in the hockey broadcasting business almost my whole pro life, it always fascinated me how announcers were stuck with pioneer Foster Hewitt's hoary HE SHOOTS, HE SCORES. Along comes Sterling with his refreshing ISLANDER GOAL, ISLANDER GOAL, which instantly caught on and became a beloved part of Isles lore.

“I worked with John from time to time and loved him and working with him. He was like a kid brother to me and my only regret is that he left hockey and the Isles too soon.

“In conclusion, the guy had THE KNACK, the enthusiasm to make him a loveable winner in his time doing hockey. Or we liked to say in my home village of Brooklyn, John Sterling was one helluva guy and broadcaster.”

The Islanders issued a statement on Monday that read: “The New York Islanders are deeply saddened to learn of the loss of John Sterling, one of the original voices of the team. The call ‘ISLANDER GOAL! ISLANDER GOAL!’ over the radio waves from the '70s will live forever. Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers go out to the Sterling family, his friends, and all the fans that had the privilege to hear his voice paint the pictures of hockey and baseball games in our minds for the past 50 years.”

McDonald, who called three of the Islanders’ four Stanley Cup seasons in the 1980s, marveled about how Sterling was the radio voice of five Yankees championship teams from 1996 to 2009.

“It’s a play-by-play announcer's dream,” McDonald said. “You're not going to catch that long flyball. You're not going to hit a home run. You’re not going to pitch a perfect game as an announcer. But, man, to be there to be part of it, even though you don't have a uniform on, your heart is at the plate, in the outfield, with the pitcher, no matter what.”

By Anthony Rieber

anthony.rieber@newsday.comAnthonyRieber

Anthony Rieber covers sports media and business and professional sports (you know, games and trades and things). He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since Jan. 1, 2026.