RIP, Harry the K
Any of you who even have a middling interest in professional sports may have heard that Harry Kalas, longtime broadcaster for the Philadelphia Phillies, died Monday in the broadcast booth while preparing to call a game between the Phils and the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park in DC. He had been with the club since 1971, which was the year that the now-razed Veterans Stadium opened.
That represents 37 full seasons of calling Phillies baseball. And it was during those years the Phillies, as is the case throughout most of the franchise’s 126-year history, fielded some pretty lousy teams. Hearing Harry, which his distinctive deep voice, call a Phillies home run as “Outta heeeere” made watching the team bearable.
If you’re still not familiar with who Harry Kalas is, think “Inside the NFL” which ran for years on HBO. Harry narrated the filmed football highlights, following in the footsteps of another Philadelphia legend, the late John Facenda. NFL Films, which has produced countless hours of NFL hightlights, is located in a Philly suburb called Mount Laurel, New Jersey.
Below is Harry calling the final out of the Phils’ World Series win last October. Behind him celebrating is fellow broadcaster Chris Wheeler.
You’ve got to admit Harry is blessed to have been able to go out doing what he loved. RIP.
I’ve been hearing Harry’s voice since I was 9 or 10, the majority of my life. And wow…you mentioned
John Facenda! Talk about the great voices in broadcasting. At least Harry died doing what he loved. And
hanging out with our World Champion Phillies!!!!!!!!!
We should all be so lucky. RIP Harry
Yo, Philly, hearing John Facenda narrate over a tight, slow motion shot of a perfectly thrown spiral as it lands softly into the waiting hands of a wide receiver was just classic. For those of you who never heard of him, John Facenda was an anchorman at WCAU, Channel 10 in Philly during the 1960s, when it was owned by CBS.
And let’s hope that Harry will show his late broadcast partner, Richie “Whitey” Ashburn, the 2008 World Series ring in that big broadcast booth in the sky. Chicago may have had Harry Caray, but we had our Harry the K!!!
Comment by onefromphilly — April 15, 2009 @ 9:00 am