Humor me and listen to a legend
This one is mine-I was lucky enough to be there when the Phils clinched the division and caught Harry's famous song live in personharry kalas sings-Phils clinch the division 2008
As you probably know by now, the voice of the Phillies, Harry Kalas, has left this earth. He died while preparing to broadcast the game he loved so much. A couple hours before the Phils played the Nationals in Washington's home opener, passed out in the broadcast booth while prepping for the 3:05 game. Although he wasn't pronounced dead until he was at the hospital, I like to think that he died at the ballpark, surrounded by the sights and sounds of his game.
Any Phillies fan will tell you that Harry's voice was a part of them; a part of their childhood, part of the experience passed down from parents to children, a part of baseball itself. He was a down home kind of guy who never had a bad word to say about anyone and ALWAYS had time for the fans.
He played straight man to his longtime broadcasting partner, Philly legend Whitey Ashburn, from 1971 until Whitey's death in 1997, and played it brilliantly. After Whitey's death he seemed to shrink a little, but his enthusiasm for the game and his obvious love of everything about it shone on for 12 more years. He opened Veterans Stadium with the Phillies in 1971, and closed it in grand fashion in 2004, and then helped the city and the team celebrate the gorgeous new Citizens Bank Park.
He will be missed by everyone in Philadelphia, and in all of baseball. You may think you never heard that distinctive voice until today, but if you are a fan of the NFL, you probably know the voice but not the name. Harry was one of the voices of NFL films, and he brought as much enthusiasm to his voice-overs for NFL films as he did to his Phillies broadcasts.
Any Phillies fan will tell you that Harry's voice was a part of them; a part of their childhood, part of the experience passed down from parents to children, a part of baseball itself. He was a down home kind of guy who never had a bad word to say about anyone and ALWAYS had time for the fans.
He played straight man to his longtime broadcasting partner, Philly legend Whitey Ashburn, from 1971 until Whitey's death in 1997, and played it brilliantly. After Whitey's death he seemed to shrink a little, but his enthusiasm for the game and his obvious love of everything about it shone on for 12 more years. He opened Veterans Stadium with the Phillies in 1971, and closed it in grand fashion in 2004, and then helped the city and the team celebrate the gorgeous new Citizens Bank Park.
He will be missed by everyone in Philadelphia, and in all of baseball. You may think you never heard that distinctive voice until today, but if you are a fan of the NFL, you probably know the voice but not the name. Harry was one of the voices of NFL films, and he brought as much enthusiasm to his voice-overs for NFL films as he did to his Phillies broadcasts.
I could say a lot more about Harry, but I think I'll just leave you with a link to the Phillies tribute page.
RIP Harry-thanks for the memories!
UPDATE
I've attended three games so far. The second game was only a week after his death, and there were several tributes at the ballpark. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera, so the pictures from my cell are mediocre at best. I went back several days later with the camera, but as you will see a couple of the memorials were only temporary. I did get some pictures of the trophy-whoo hoo, finally!
So enjoy the rest of the pictures, and remember Harry. :)
The memorial outside around the Mike Schmidt statue
The chalk on the field
What remained of the chalk signature a week later (HOF means Hall of Fame)
The banner in the outfield-I hope they make a tshirt
The patch on every uniform (sorry about the quality-it's from Phanavision)
And finally, the trophy.
The line for pictures
Can I help it if I'm goofy looking? and the hat hair doesn't help :)
In all its glory
Thanks for coming back. :)
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