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Harold Norbert Kalas (March 26, 1936 – April 13, 2009) was an American sportscaster, best known for his Ford C. Frick Award-winning role as lead play-by-play announcer for Major League Baseball's Philadelphia Phillies, a position he held from 1971 until his death in 2009.

Harry kalas

Kalas was also closely identified with the National Football League, serving as a voice-over narrator for NFL Films productions (a regular feature on Inside the NFL) and calling football games nationally for Westwood One radio.

Kalas collapsed in the Washington Nationals' broadcast booth on April 13, 2009, about an hour before a Phillies game was scheduled to begin against the Nationals, and died soon afterward.

Early life and family[]

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Kalas graduated from Naperville High School in 1954 and from the University of Iowa in 1959 where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity. Upon graduation, he was immediately drafted into the United States Army and stationed in Hawaii. After his discharge in 1961, Kalas began calling minor-league baseball games for the Hawaii Islanders.

Kalas had three sons: Todd, Brad, and Kane. Todd Kalas was a Phillies broadcaster, worked as a pregame/postgame–show host, and is currently a play-by-play announcer for the Houston Astros. Kane Kalas is a professional poker player.

Professional career[]

Kalas made his major-league debut in 1965 with the Houston Astros, replacing Al Helfer and working alongside Gene Elston and Loel Passe.[1][2] He called the first game at Houston's Astrodome, on April 12, 1965.[3]

He was hired by the Phillies in 1971 to succeed Bill Campbell, and was the master of ceremonies at the 1971 opening of Veterans Stadium. After the retirement of By Saam, Kalas was paired with Andy Musser and Hall of Fame player Richie Ashburn.

Philadelphia Phillies[]

While initially meeting with a lukewarm reception due to his replacement of the popular Campbell, Kalas soon won the hearts of Phillies fans with his easy-going style, his mellow, baritone, leathery voice (which rose to great excitement upon great plays on the field or Phillies' home runs, especially in key situations), his love of the game and also his accessibility to Phillies fans, for whom he professed a strong love.

During his Phillies career, he called six no-hit games, six National League Championship Series, and three World Series (1983, 1993, and 2008). However, due to MLB rules at the time, he could not call the 1980 World Series, as local broadcasters were not allowed to call games due to contract conflicts with MLB, NBC and CBS Radio. Public outcry caused MLB to change its policies the following year.

Kalas also called the first game at Veterans Stadium (April 10, 1971), the last game at Veterans Stadium (September 28, 2003), and the first game at Citizens Bank Park (April 12, 2004).[3]

Kalas was sidelined for a few days in late July 2008 to treat a detached retina.

On April 8, 2009, the Phillies honored Kalas by having him throw out the first pitch before a game against the Atlanta Braves. Kalas's pitch was part of the pre-game ceremony in which the Phillies received their 2008 World Series championship rings.[4] The ceremony would be part of Kalas's last home game.

On May 15, 2009, during a series in Washington, the Phillies visited the White House and were congratulated by President Barack Obama for their 2008 World Series championship. The visit had been postponed from April 14, due to Kalas's death the preceding day. The President mentioned Kalas, his voice, his love for the Phillies, and his legacy.[5] This was the second of two tributes to Kalas in Washington. On April 21, eight days after Kalas's death, then–U.S. Congressman Joe Sestak paid tribute to Kalas in the House of Representatives. At the time, Sestak represented Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district, where Kalas resided.[6][7]

Richie Ashburn[]

Main article: Richie Ashburn

Kalas and Ashburn became beloved figures in Philadelphia, and also became best friends. They worked together for 27 seasons until Ashburn's death on September 9, 1997 of a heart attack in his sleep in a New York City hotel room after broadcasting a Phillies/Mets game at Shea Stadium. It is believed by many that Kalas never got over the death of his partner and friend, openly stating more than 11 years afterward that he still grieved over Ashburn's death.[8]

Memorable calls[]

File:Harry-Kalas.jpg

Kalas, pictured before the 2007 playoffs, singing "High Hopes"

Kalas' familiar home run call was "Swing ... and a long drive, this ball is ... outta here! Home run Ryan Howard! If it was a gigantic home run, he sometimes inserted "deep (left center)" after "and a long drive" and described it as "that ball's way outta here!"

As a guest on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball on July 15, 2007, Kalas recounted that his famous "outta here" call originated in the mid-1970s. While standing around the batting cage during batting practice, he saw Phillies slugger Greg Luzinski hit a ball into the upper deck, to which Philly shortstop Larry Bowa reacted with the words, "Wow! That's way outta here." Kalas said that it had a nice "unique ring to it and has been using it ever since".

Other broadcasters have used Kalas' "outta here" call, including Gary Cohen of the New York Mets, Jerry Coleman of the San Diego Padres, Duane Kuiper of the San Francisco Giants, Matt Underwood of the Cleveland Indians and Terry Smith of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Kalas made, arguably, his most memorable call on April 18, 1987, when Mike Schmidt hit his 500th career home run.[9]

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In 1980, after the Phillies won the World Series, Kalas and the rest of the Phillies' radio crew re-created the call that Kalas probably would have made when Tug McGraw struck out Willie Wilson to win Game 6 and the World Series between the Phillies and the Kansas City Royals.

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This call was not made live by Kalas, as MLB radio-broadcasting regulations at the time forbade local stations from producing live coverage of World Series games, instead forcing them to air the national CBS Radio feed of the games. Philadelphia fans were so outraged about this afterward that they started a letter-writing campaign to the Commissioner's Office, demanding a change to the rule. Due at least in part to this outcry from Philadelphia fans, MLB amended its broadcasting contracts the following year to allow World Series teams' flagship radio stations to air the games with local announcers.[10] Nevertheless, Kalas was part of the Phillies' World Series celebration in 1980, and rode in the team's victory parade down Broad Street.[6][11]

Kalas did call the 1980 NLCS, but his call of the final out was drowned out by Tim McCarver's laughter.

Kalas called a grand slam home run by Mariano Duncan off Lee Smith in 1993:

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Another memorable call by Kalas was his description of Mitch Williams's strikeout of Bill Pecota for the final out of Game 6 of the 1993 National League Championship Series between the Phillies and Atlanta Braves:

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Another of Kalas' famous calls came less than two weeks later with Joe Carter's famous walk-off home run to end the World Series, though the Phillies lost the series:

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On April 4, 2003, Kalas called a grand slam by Chase Utley in Utley's major-league debut:

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On June 14, 2004, Kalas called the 400th home run hit by Jim Thome, using the call he used in later years when it was uncertain whether the ball would clear the fence:

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On September 8, 2005, Kalas calls an eventual game-winning 3-run home run by Craig Biggio in top of the 9th off Billy Wagner.

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On August 9, 2006, Kalas called a close play at the plate as Chase Utley scored from second base on a routine groundout against the Atlanta Braves:

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Here is Kalas's call of Brett Myers' strikeout of Washington's Wily Mo Pena to clinch the 2007 National League East division title for the Phillies on the last day of the season, completing a comeback as they erased a seven-game deficit behind the New York Mets in early September:

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Kalas' call on the Phillies' victory in Game 5 of the 2008 NLCS:

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On October 29, 2008, Kalas was finally able to call a Phillies' championship-winning moment in the World Series when Brad Lidge struck out Eric Hinske to win the 104th Fall Classic:[12]

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Kalas made his final call on April 12, 2009, during the Phillies game against the Colorado Rockies:

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Miscellany[]

Kalas was known for his love of the Frank Sinatra song, "High Hopes", a melody he sang at numerous events, including the Phillies' championship celebrations in his later years. His most famous singing of "High Hopes" came in 1993 when he sang to the team after they clinched the NL East division title. On April 17, 2009, at the first home game after Kalas's death, fans sang along with a video of Harry singing "High Hopes" during the seventh-inning stretch, instead of the traditional "Take Me Out to the Ball Game".

Kalas had sung "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" on several occasions during the seventh-inning stretch at Wrigley Field in Chicago on several occasions in tribute to Harry Caray, the late voice of the Chicago Cubs, who had led fans in that song at most home games. However, by that time, Kalas, a native of the Chicago area, had become an openly avid Phillies fan, and held the microphone out to the audience to hear them sing "the Cubbies" as they replaced their team's name for "the home team" in the song's lyrics.

Kalas, due to his stay in Hawaii, was very proficient at pronouncing Polynesian names. He also liked to slowly enunciate certain players' names, especially those with ethnic names. His personal favorite, Mickey Morandini, was pronounced as "Mi-ckey Mor-an-DI-ni".[13]

Kalas attributed his leathery voice to his habit of smoking Parliament cigarettes, and some of the Phillies players lit up Parliaments after Kalas' death as a tribute.[14]

NFL Films[]

Kalas joined NFL Films as a narrator in 1975. He became its primary voice, following the passing of John Facenda in 1984. He provided the narration to the highlights on Inside the NFL from its inception in 1976 through the 2008 season.[15] Following Kalas' death, fellow Philadelphia Phillies announcer Scott Graham took over his Inside the NFL duties.

Other ventures[]

In addition to his work with the Phillies and NFL Films, Kalas called various sports over the years for the Mutual Broadcasting System, CBS Radio, and Westwood One Radio (including the NFL, MLB, college basketball, and Notre Dame football). Kalas joined Dennis Green to call the 1985 Aloha Bowl between Alabama and USC.[16] For many years, he narrated the "Alcoa Fantastic Finishes" in-game highlights spots, for use during NFL telecasts. His voice was used for narration of WLVT-TV's documentary on the Lehigh-Lafayette Rivalry, produced in 2004. Kalas also lent his voice to NFL Network's game telecasts, reading sponsor plugs during commercial breaks. He was replaced by Pat Summerall after his death.

Along with Joe Kapp, Kalas called the 1982 Liberty Bowl...the last game of Paul “Bear” Bryant's career and his 323rd victory.

Kalas also lent his voice to the commercials for the movie Leatherheads, as well as commercials for the Campbell Soup Company (including Campbell's Chunky Soup), GMC Truck, Sega Genesis Sports Games, Coors Light, and others.

Kalas provided the recorded voice-over for much of the self-guided tours at the United States Mint in Philadelphia and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis.

He also narrated/commentated Animal Planet's Puppy Bowls I-V from 2005 to 2009.[17] Puppy Bowl VI was dedicated in his memory.[18]

He also made an appearance on the song "Rain Delay" by the Philadelphia-based rock group Marah.

References[]

  1. Reed, Robert (1999). A Six-Gun Salute: An Illustrated History of the Colt .45s. Houston, TX: Gulf Publishing Co.
  2. Barron, David. "Phillies announcer Kalas dies after collapsing in booth", Houston Chronicle, April 13, 2009.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Official Phillies website: News: Team history: Features: Harry Kalas Tribute. Phillies.MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media, L.P.
  4. Video of Harry Kalas throwing out the first pitch on April 8, 2009, just five days before he would die.
  5. Zolecki, Todd (2009-05-15). Phillies lauded for '08 title at White House: President Obama praises club for inspiring postseason run. Phillies.MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media, L.P.
  6. 6.0 6.1 Miller, Randy (2010). Harry the K: the remarkable life of Harry Kalas. Philadelphia: Running Press.
  7. Rep. Sestak reads statement honoring Harry Kalas into Congressional Record. US Fed News Service. via HighBeam Research Template:Subscription required (2 July 2009).
  8. Bodley, Hal (April 13, 2009). Kalas' call continues to resonate. MLB.com.
  9. Video of Harry Kalas calling Mike Schmidt's 500th career home run and a tribute to Harry Kalas.
  10. "Radio Stations May Use Announcers for Series", February 15, 1981, p. 98.
  11. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named WorldSeries
  12. Audio Clip: The Philadelphia Phillies are 2008 World Champions of Baseball!. On The DL Podcast (October 29, 2008).
  13. Page written by Clark DeLeon, columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer, about Kalas pronunciations Template:Webarchive Retrieved July 21, 2010
  14. Hofmann, Rich. "Players light up cigarette before game as tribute to Kalas", 14 April 2009.
  15. Goldstein, Richard. "Harry Kalas, Popular Voice of Phillies, Dies at 73", April 14, 2009.
  16. 1985 Aloha Bowl #15 Alabama vs USC YouTube.com
  17. Ryzik, Melena. "Just Fine as Tackles, but They Can't Pass", The New York Times, February 2, 2008.
  18. About Puppy Bowl VI: Animal Planet Template:Webarchive Discovery.com

External links[]

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