thephan wrote:2004 WHYY show on Kalas: http://www.whyy.org/tv12/kalas.html

Harry: This game is it. I think whoever wins this game is gonna win this thing.
Richie: I don't agree.
Harry: Ok, why?
Richie: I think, uh...I think you gotta win two more to win it, Harry.
Harry: *laughing* Well, no kidding.

Forgive me as I get real for a moment.


Monday, I lost someone very close to me, though I had only met him a few times. He was someone whose voice I'd listened to longer and more intently than any of my closest friends and relatives. He was someone who could make a three hour drive to anywhere take no time at all. He was someone I always looked to to tell me exactly what was going on and what would be coming next. Harry Kalas, legendary voice of the Phillies, passed away at the age of 73 on Monday afternoon.


As a tribute to him, my wife and I had pizza for dinner on Monday. You see, for several years Harry was the MC at the annual "King of Baseballtown" banquet at the Sheraton / Reading Crowne Hotel. My wife bemoaned the fact that he seemed to start every one of these banquets with the same old story, told here by The Man himself:


"If it was a long game and Whitey (Harry's longtime broadcast partner, Richie "Whitey" Ashburn) would be getting hungry, he'd say, 'Well, I wonder if those people down at Celebre's Pizza are listening tonight.' Within 15 minutes, two pizzas would be delivered to the booth. This went on for a couple of months.

"Now, Phillies management called Whitey and they said, 'Rich, Celebre's is not a sponsor. You can't be throwing their name out there on the air all the time.'

"So, shortly after he was told this, maybe two or three weeks, there's an extra innings game; he's really hungry, and we do birthday wishes. Whitey said, 'Well, Harry, we have special birthday wishes tonight: To the Celebre twins, Plain and Pepperoni.'

"Fifteen minutes later, the pizzas arrived."

I don't remember if he told the story this year. What I remember most about this year's banquet is a moment that I'm sure not too many other people noticed.


My father was asked to sing the National Anthem before the banquet (he does a really nice job, but it's partly a running joke because he forgot the words while singing it prior to an RPhils game a few years ago). Anyway, here was my dad at the podium, with Harry Kalas standing next to them, and I had this great shot of the two of them basically singing together. I happened to bring my brand new video camera with me, too! All I had to do was take it out and hit record. However, I didn't want to be "only-guy-that-does-something-other-than-salutes-the-flag-during-the-National-Anthem", so I kept it in its case. I immediately regretted it, and do even more now.


Working for the Phillies, I'd seen him a lot around the ballpark. Every time, I was startstruck. Every single time. I met Harry three times that I can remember.


One was at a similar banquet when I was a little kid. This man who looked a little like my grandfather asked me what my name was; I was too shy to say anything, and I think he gave me a baseball.


The next time, I was a little older, and I actually knew who he was, so it was much more exciting. Again, he asked me what my name was, but this time I was actually able to respond and shake his hand.


The final time was just two years ago at yet another banquet. I was there in place of my dad, doing interviews for him to play on the air. I was excited because I got to interview (future World Series MVP) Cole Hamels. Most of my questions were about my ridiculous "Cole Hamels Facts" website, and I was thrilled that he had heard of it and gave it a ringing endorsement (which I have since put on the site for all to hear).

When our interview was over, I was kind of just killing time- waiting for the banquet to begin. Then I saw him. There was Harry Kalas sitting -all by himself- against the wall. My wife was with me, so I asked if she would take a picture of the two of us. I’m not a big autograph person, but I love to get my picture taken with people I admire. I introduced myself and asked if he would mind taking a picture with me. He invited me to sit on the couch, put his arm around me, and sat there with me while my wife figured out how to use the camera. He didn’t look at his watch; he didn’t sigh in frustration like a living legend might be expected to. He just sat there with me and let her take the picture. Then she wanted one, and he sat there and waited while she fixed her hair and we did the camera exchange. Those will always be two of my favorite pictures.


Again, I didn’t know Harry, but I know enough of him to know that my life won’t be the same without him. Rest in peace, HK.

Phanarchy wrote:I suppose if I don't step out of the shadows now I never will. I cannot add to what has already been said about the man who brought us such joy and hope over the years. Highs and lows, Harry was constant. What I would like to say is thank you, all of you. When I heard the news yesterday I felt like, well, like most of what I have read. There were no words. I was conflicted by the fact that I felt so much grief for someone I had never met.

When I got home I logged on to check out Backshegoes as I normally do during the season, and I found comfort. I found a group of people who felt the same way I did, who shared stories about the man who is the only voice of baseball I have ever known. A group of people, who like myself had mostly never met the man but were so effected. As I began to talk to my fellow fans at home I further realized that I am not alone in this feeling. I just wanted to thank you all for giving me a place to come and get some comfort. To find out that my tears were far from alone. Maybe this will spur me to join the community more often in posting, I'd certainly like to. Either way though I will be here, mourning the loss with the rest of you.

kenrosenthal wrote:1, was that written by you?


if so, well done

1 wrote:

kenrosenthal wrote:1, was that written by you?


if so, well done

yeah, that's me. i wasn't in school yesterday to talk about it with my kids, so i put it on my blog for them to read if they want to.

CalvinBall wrote:

1 wrote:

kenrosenthal wrote:1, was that written by you?


if so, well done

yeah, that's me. i wasn't in school yesterday to talk about it with my kids, so i put it on my blog for them to read if they want to.

good stuff kev. you do anything in class today for harry?

1 wrote:

CalvinBall wrote:

1 wrote:

kenrosenthal wrote:1, was that written by you?


if so, well done

yeah, that's me. i wasn't in school yesterday to talk about it with my kids, so i put it on my blog for them to read if they want to.

good stuff kev. you do anything in class today for harry?

i talked about it a little bit with one of my classes, and another brought it up on their own. i couldn't keep it up all day, so i typed that out.

Monkeyboy wrote:Hey, 1. How do you teach school and also have a job with the phillies? Don't the game times interfere?

1 wrote:

Monkeyboy wrote:Hey, 1. How do you teach school and also have a job with the phillies? Don't the game times interfere?

to make matters more complicated, i teach near reading. mind blown yet?

Harry’s signature white jacket and white shoes would light up the lobby after those 3:00 a.m. arrivals that began West Coast trips. And no matter where in the country we were, he would take the time to lend his golden voice to whatever we asked — announce the team’s annual fantasy football draft, or be on call to deliver his signature “struck him out” just because Bobby Abreu wanted to hear it one more time.

I know that Bobby Abreu has the greatest respect for him. There's a great story that Harry Kalas used to tell about Abreu preparing a talk to give at a charity event- his first ever in English- and how Kalas helped him and was then so proud of him for doing it. This was when Abreu was much younger and his English was really rough.

As a life-long Phillies fan and a much more recent Angels fan, this has been a tough week.