Harry Kalas
Harold Norbert Kalas was an American sportscaster, best known for his Ford C. Frick Award-winning role as lead play-by-play announcer for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball, a position he held from 1971 until his death in 2009.
Kalas was also closely identified with the National Football League, serving as a voice-over narrator for NFL Films productions and calling football games nationally for Westwood One radio.
Early life and education
Kalas was born on March 26, 1936; the son of a Methodist minister of German descent, Kalas graduated from Naperville High School in 1954 and from the University of Iowa in 1959. At the University of Iowa, he was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity.Career
After graduating from the University of Iowa, Kalas 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.
Houston Astros
In 1965, Kalas made his Major League Baseball broadcasting debut with the Houston Astros, replacing Al Helfer and working alongside Gene Elston and Loel Passe. He called the first game at the Houston Astrodome, on April 12, 1965.Philadelphia Phillies
In 1971, Kalas 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.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, 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. 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, the last game at Veterans Stadium, and the first game at Citizens Bank Park.
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. 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. 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.
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 room at the Grand Hyatt New York 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.Memorable calls
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 " 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 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.
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.
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. Nevertheless, Kalas was part of the Phillies' World Series celebration in 1980, and rode in the team's victory parade down Broad Street.
Kalas did call the 1980 NLCS, but his call of the final out was partially drowned out by Tim McCarver's laughter. An exciting call from an otherwise forgettable season occurred in May 1989, when, on a Phillies team that would finish last, Bob Dernier hit a walk-off, 3-run inside-the-park home run against the eventual National League Champion Giants:
Swing and a line drive, it's a fair ball down the left field line, going on the way to the corner. Here comes Thon in to score; Lake being waved around! Mitchell can't pick it up! Lake scores -- here comes Dernier!! The throw to the plate -- safe!! I can't believe it!! The Phillies have won 3 to 2 in the bottom half of the 12th inning!! Incredible! Mitchell could not pick the ball up down in the left field corner! It kicked away from him! Dernier circled the bases! The Phillies have won 3 to 2 in the 12th! Would you believe it!?Kalas called a grand slam home run by Mariano Duncan off Lee Smith in 1993:
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:
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:
On April 4, 2003, Kalas called a grand slam by Chase Utley in Utley's major-league debut:
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:
On September 7, 2005, Kalas calls an eventual game-winning 3-run home run by Craig Biggio in top of the 9th off Billy Wagner.
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:
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:
Kalas' call on the Phillies' victory in Game 5 of the 2008 NLCS:
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:
Kalas made his final call on April 12, 2009, during the Phillies game against the Colorado Rockies:
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". The Phillies subsequently began playing the video after victories at Citizens Bank Park and have done so ever since.Kalas had sung "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" 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".
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.