Harold Norbert Kalas

March 26, 1936 - April 13, 2009

The Voice of the Phillies

Harry Kalas was not the most famous sportscaster around, at least in a national sense. He didn't have the name recognition of Harry Caray or Howard Cosell. However, Kalas, a native of Naperville, Illinois, was every bit a Philadelphia institution as Ben Franklin, the Liberty Bell, or Tastykakes. For thirty-eight years, Kalas was the voice of the Philadelphia Phillies, and since the mid-1970's was one of the main voices of NFL Films. And, yes, his was the voice you heard during the Puppy Bowl.

The son of a Methodist minister of Greek descent, Harry Kalas graduated from the University of Iowa in 1959, then served two years in the U.S. Army stationed in Hawai'i. In 1962, Kalas began to announce for the Hawaii Islanders, a AAA-affiliate of the Kansas City Athletics, moving to the big leagues when the Houston Astros hired him before the 1965 season. Spending his first six years broadcasting from the brand-new Houston Astrodome, Kalas would announce such moments as Eddie Mathews' 500th home run in 1967, as well as Cesar Cedeno's first homer in 1970.

In 1971, Kalas became the announcer of the Philadelphia Phillies, and was the master of ceremonies when Veterans Stadium opened that April. Over the years, he would be joined in the booth by many people, but Kalas is most remembered for his 26-year partnership with color commentator and Hall of Fame centerfielder Richie Ashburn, who he used to call "His Whiteness". The Phillies improved over the years, winning four National League East titles in five years under the leadership of Mike Schmidt, Garry Maddox, and Larry Bowa. However, the Phils could not succeed in the NLCS until after acquiring Pete Rose in 1979. Ashburn and Kalas (along with Andy Musser) would finally announce a pennant winner in 1980, after the Phils beat the Houston Astros in what is widely regarded to be the greatest League Championship Series of all time. However, Major League Baseball did not allow a club's broadcasters to announce the World Series, and Kalas would have to settle for re-enacting Tug McGraw's World Championship-clinching strikeout. In 2003, during the closing ceremonies of Veterans Stadium, Kalas would repeat his re-enactment, when McGraw (who would succumb to a brain tumor three months later) mimicked his last pitch.

Over the years, Kalas came to be known for his catchphrase, "This ball is outta heeeerrreee..." While in a 2007 interview, he claimed to start saying this during the mid 1970's, influenced by the slugging power of Greg Luzinski, there is evidence that he used at least a variation of it during his years with Houston. The most memorable use of this was when "Michael Jack Schmidt" hit his five-hundreth home run in 1987. Other memorable calls included many associated with the Phillies' pennant-winning season in 1993. That July, a twi-night doubleheader at The Vet against San Diego was delayed by rain, and did not end until well past four in the morning, with closer Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams driving in the winning run in the tenth inning. Kalas' use of Williams' clubhouse nickname, "Mitchie-Poo" turned a great game into a legendary one. When the Phillies clinched the National League East in 1993, Kalas led the team in a drunken rendition of "High Hopes", which he would repeat on at least two different occasions.

The Phillies would lose the 1993 World Series in a heartbreaker to the Toronto Blue Jays, and would not make another run for the playoffs for nearly a decade. In September of 1997, Richie Ashburn died in a New York City hotel room after broadcasting a game against the New York Mets, leaving Harry Kalas to broadcast with Chris "Wheels" Wheeler, with whom he had a contentious professional relationship with, and former Phillie Larry Andersen, among others. For a while in the mid-1990's, Harry's son Todd joined the Phillies broadcast team.

In 2002, Harry Kalas was awarded the Ford C. Frick Award by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, and would join the Phils in opening Citizens Bank Park in 2004. By this time, the Phillies had built the nucleus of a championship team, and Kalas was there, ushering in the catchphrase "Chase Utley, YOU ARE THE MAN!!!" when the young second baseman started to become a star. In 2007, the Phillies came from behind to win the NL East title, led by 2007 NL MVP Jimmy Rollins and 2006 NL MVP Ryan Howard. While they were swept by the Colorado Rockies, they would be back the next year, and how!

While Harry was able to announce the 1983 and 1993 World Series, he finally was able to call a World Series win for the Phils in his final full season, 2008. Ironically, the Phillies would face the Tampa Bay Rays, who had hired Todd Kalas as an in-game analyst when they began playing in 1998. For part of one game, they worked the booth together, joined by Harry's younger son Kane. On October 29, 2008, after twenty-eight years and a two-day rain delay, Brad Lidge struck out Eric Hinske to clinch the World Series, and Harry Kalas would make the call of his life:

"The 0-2 pitch, SWING AND A MISS!!! STRUCK HIM OUT!!! THE PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES ARE 2008 WORLD CHAMPIONS OF BASEBALL!!! Brad Lidge does it again...and watch the city celebrate! Don't let the forty-eight hour wait diminish the euphoria of this moment and this celebration!..."

Kalas was among those cheered as the Phillies marched through Broad Street two days later. While his decline in health had been noticable, there was no doubt he would be there when the Phils tried to repeat as World Champions. During the offseason, Kalas underwent surgery; its nature was never disclosed and was considered "minor", but had missed much of Spring Training. He had returned in time for Opening Day, and threw the first pitch the final game of the opening series. In what turned out to be his final game, on April 12, 2009, Kalas made the call on Matt Stairs' game winning home run against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.

On Monday, April 13, 2009, the Philadelphia Phillies were preparing to play in Washington, D.C. against the Nationals. Sometime around 12:30 pm, Harry Kalas was found unconscious in the broadcasting booth, and was taken to George Washington University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at around 1:20pm of heart disease. The Phillies went on to win the game against the lowly Nats, with players smoking cigarettes in tribute to Harry the K during the moment of silence. Shane Victorino pointed to the broadcast booth at Nationals Park in honor of Kalas after hitting a home run in the third inning. While plans for a private funeral and burial were being made, the Phillies scheduled a public viewing at Citizens Bank Park for April 18.

Kalas' death was just one in a week filled with tragedy in the baseball world, with the car accident death of Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart on April 9, and the farm accident death of 1976 AL Rookie of the Year Mark "The Bird" Fidrych, also on April 13. In addition to Scott and Kane, Harry Kalas is survived by his wife and another son, as well as millions of people who grew up with his rich, baritone voice.

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Sources (other than decades of being a dedicated Phillie Phanatic):

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Kalas
• http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090413&content_id=4249036&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb
• http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4064793
• http://astrosdaily.com/audio/70cedenohr.mp3 (A sample of Harry Kalas from his Houston days).
• http://onthedlpodcast.com/clips/phils_champs_harry.mp3 (Kalas' call from Game 5 of the 2008 World Series).
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Major League Baseball franchise, currently a part of the Central Division of the American League.

The Royals were founded in 1969 as part of Major League Baseball's explosive growth period, when from 1962 to 1972 eight new teams were founded and four others changed locations (including two of the expansion teams). The Royals joined the newly created AL West for the 1969 season under the ownership of pharmaceutical magnate Ewing Kauffman.

The newly created expansion team started off as most expansion teams do, finishing below .500 for three of its first four seasons and never really rising from the middle of the pack. The early team featured young standout Lou Piniella, taken during the 1969 expansion draft by the Seattle Pilots, but traded to the Royals before the season began. "Sweet Lou" won the Rookie of the Year award in that first season, and, after playing four years with the Royals, was traded to the Yankees after 1973. By that time, however, a new franchise face had shown up in rookie George Brett.

1973: A New Face, A New Park, A New Contender

In 1973, the Royals moved to the brand new Royals Stadium (renamed Kauffman Stadium in 1993), which replaced the fifty year old Kansas City Municipal Stadium. The new facility featured a state-of-the-art (for the time) Astroturf playing surface and symmetrical outfield dimensions, ranging from 330 feet down the lines to 410 feet to straightaway center. In an era of multipurpose "cookie cutter" stadiums, Royals Stadium was the only baseball specific park built between 1962 and 1991.

The team that called this modernist masterpiece home was helmed by first time manager Jack McKeon and featured such players as Lou Piniella (in his last season as a Royal) and, inaugurating the newly-created designated hitter role, 27 year old Hal McRae. A young kid named George Brett also saw limited action at the end of the '73 season. The club that season finished 88-74 that year, good for second in the AL West. That offseason saw a trade that would set a pattern for the Royals franchise throughout the ages: Lou Piniella, who had had a down year in 1973, was traded along with a fringe throw-in for 38 year old journeyman reliever Lindy McDaniel. Piniella would go on to play for the next decade for the Yankees, while McDaniel gave the Royals 200 innings over the next two seasons before retiring.

However, this questionable deal didn't cripple the Royals. Despite their fifth place finish in 1974, the team began a dramatic upswing starting with the hiring of Whitey Herzog during the 1975 season and the emergence of George Brett as a talent for the ages. A 41-25 push down the stretch under Herzog's tutelage wasn't enough to catch the Oakland Athletics (nee Kansas City Athletics), but starting in 1976, Herzog led the team to three straight division titles and the franchise would finish first or second every year until 1986, winning six divisional titles. During this time period, "The White Rat" emphasized speed and defense with his new club, using the Astroturf playing surface to his advantage to have speedy slap hitters beat out grounders and take advantage of gappers that split outfield defenses. Brett also posted superstar numbers as a perennial All-Star third baseman and won the 1980 MVP on the strength of his incredible .390 batting average.

Herzog's departure after the 1979 season (for the cross-state Cardinals) didn't slow the franchise at all. Under new manager Jim Frey, the club would win the pennant in 1980 before a disastrous first half in the strike altered 1981 season led to his replacement by Dick Howser. Howser led the club to its second pennant win in 1985, and in the "I-70 World Series" against former manager Herzog, gave the team its first World Championship.

After the 1985 season, it was the beginning of the end for this small-market powerhouse. The team managed to stay respectable for the rest of the 80s with the help of young two-sport superstar Bo Jackson, but a combination of factors heightened the decline of this once-contending franchise. The disastrous trade of David Cone for Ed Hearn, and the later trade of Bret Saberhagen for Kevin McReynolds, Gregg Jeffries, and Keith Miller added to the downward momentum. Jackson's decline from hip injuries sustained while playing football and the death of owner Ewing Kauffman in 1993 marked a low point in franchise history. Brett also retired following the 1993 season, finishing his career with 3,154 hits, 317 home runs, and 201 stolen bases.

1993: The Glass is Half Empty

Following the death of owner Ewing Kauffman in 1993, former Wal-Mart executive David Glass was appointed interim chairman and CEO of the franchise. Glass, who as of this writing is one of the the richest owners in Major League Baseball, is frequently derided as a cheapskate who meddled with baseball operations at the expense of the on-field product. During the 1994 strike, Glass was one of the agitators for the use of replacement players and doing whatever is necessary to break the strength of the player's union. While under Glass' control, the Royals have averaged 96 losses per season and have traded away such talent as Jermaine Dye, Johnny Damon, and Carlos Beltran. They're also perennial contenders for the "Worst Franchise in Sports" tag, as, despite Glass' insistence on a small-market payroll, the club routinely ranks as one of the most profitable in baseball due to revenue sharing. In 2006, Glass' bid to buy the team for $96M was approved by a board stacked with Glass supporters, despite a competing bid for $120M. Kauffman Stadium is now undergoing a $250M taxpayer-funded renovation orchestrated by the (mis)management of the club.

2008 and beyond

As Glass continues to bring his Wal-Mart philosophy of low wages for marginal product to baseball, it is unlikely that the franchise will ever fully pull out of its decline. Much like Bill Wirtz's ownership of the Blackhawks of the NHL, the stranglehold of a powerful owner intent on squeezing every dime out of a poor team will last for the foreseeable future.