I know that the Harry Kalas story has been done a lot, but honestly, it’s all deserved, so I have one more post for him. In the past couple of days, a lot of the national media and various players have chimed in on how they felt about “Harry the K.” And, since I never got to meet the man, personally, my tribute was more of how he affected my life. But, let me recount some of the ways this great man affected the lives of those that knew him personally.
Harry was an incredibly kind and humble person:
- Phillies President, Dave Montgomery, aptly said, upon Harry’s passing, that “the Phillies had lost their voice.”
- Bob Uecker, the great Milwaukee Brewers announcer, was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame the same year that Harry was. Uecker said, on that day about Harry, that “anyone who doesn’t like Harry, must not like anyone.”
- Mike Schmidt, who was born and raised in Dayton, OH, said that his parents and other family members would come see him every time the Phillies were playing the Reds in Cincinnati. And, he said that Harry made it a point to go to the hotel where Schmidt’s family was staying (not the team hotel, where Harry was staying) to say hello and spend some time with them. And, apparently, Schmidt wasn’t the only player for which he would do that.
- Tom McCarthy, who got to broadcast the Atlantic Ten tournament this year, said that each night after doing the games, he would get a call from Harry just to say, in that famous voice, “Tommy, you did a great job tonight, how about those Temple Owls?!? Keep up the good work.”
- Don Tollefson said that he was the master of ceremonies for a banquet in Harry’s honor, and Harry’s speech consisted of thanking everyone and praising Tollefson and company for their hospitality and such. He made no mention of himself in any way. That was Harry’s humility.
- Jim Fregosi, the manager of the 1993 Phillies and a part of baseball as a player or manager for a half-century now, recounted the fact that Harry always sat on the back of the airplanes with the players, just to get to know them and have fun with them. Fregosi said that he was more than an announcer, he was a part of the team.
He was a real professional, in everything he did, and was always there to help groom his fellow broadcasters, in any way he could:
- Scott Graham, long-time Philadelphia sports broadcaster, said that working with Harry made him a better announcer and a better person.
- Marc Zumoff said that in his first interview for his first announcing job was for an indoor soccer team. For the interview, Zumoff was supposed to announce that night’s soccer game. So, he showed up and who was there to do it with him, but Harry Kalas. Not only did Harry help him during the game, but he then took him out to dinner after the game and ran through all the things he did well and all upon which he could improve. Zumoff got the job (on Harry’s recommendation) and has since ascended to become the voice of the 76ers.
- Chris Wheeler, Harry’s long-time color commentator for the Phillies, made the statement that, though everyone will think about his incredible voice, the underplayed part of this story is that Harry truly understood the game of baseball, and in a way that many announcers–and players, for that matter–do not.
And, then there was that voice–and what it meant to the Phillies players, the game of baseball, and the sports world:
- Joe Buck, the annoyingly trite, yet somehow successful lead announcer for FOX Sports, said about Harry, “if I had that voice, I would never leave the house. I would just stay in and talk to myself all day.”
- There was a random caller to a Philadelphia sport radio station that recounted a story about when he played in a Carpenter Cup game at the Vet (a Philadelphia high school all-star baseball tournament). Apparently, this guy stole two bases in the game that afternoon and as he was leaving the locker room, he happened to walk by Harry Kalas, who was heading to the press box to get ready for the Phils that night. Harry just walked by him and said, “hey kid, were those sneakers or ice skates that you had on today?” Not only was Harry watching the game, but he recognized this high school kid from the game, and he made it a point to make the kid’s day, with a simple comment.
- Another caller said that he ran into Harry at a Spring Training game, as he was leaving to drive back up to Philly. Apparently, this guy and his young son got to stop and talk to Harry for a little bit. At the end of the conversation, the guy said “Harry, we’ve got to go, we have” in his best Harry impersonation, “a lonnnnnnnnng drive ahead of us.” Well, at this Harry absolutely cracked up, looked at the young boy and said, “well, I guess you guys are outta here.”
- Back in 2002, Doug Glanville, the then-centerfielder for the Phillies, hit an inside-the-park home run. He said that as soon as he crossed the plate, what was the first thing that came to his mind? I wonder how Harry called that. And, then when he got into the locker-room, the first thing he asked was if someone had a recording of Harry’s call. He still says, to this day, that listening to Harry make that call is as fond of a memory for him as actually running the bases!
- Mike Schmidt, after hitting his 500th home run, went into the locker room and, just like Glanville would 15 years later, the first thing he did was ask for Harry’s call. He would recount later that nothing he ever did on the field seemed real until he heard Harry describe it. Wow! Think about that. A guy hits a monumental home run (probably the second-finest moment of his career, behind winning the 1980 World Series), and he said that it wasn’t real until he heard Harry describe it.
And, what did Harry mean to anyone who met him?
- John Kruk, in attempting to give him memories on ESPN, couldn’t get anything out before he broke down–on the air.
- Jimmy Rollins, the certified “tough guy” for the Phillies, stumbled through his memories of Harry, all choked up as he described Harry, on the back of the plane, half-asleep, hanging out as “one of the guys.”
- Jayson Stark, arguably the best baseball writer on the planet and born and bred Philadelphian, broke down several times in a recent interview. He said that the best memories of Harry were the simple things. Jayson said that he remembers one day in Spring Training when he walked by Harry, asked him how it was going and Harry just shook his head and said, in the voice that we ALL can hear in our heads, “Not good, Jayson. Kyle Kendrik…one and a third innings, EIGHT runs.” And, as he walked away, he turned to Jayson and said, “oh, and they were all earned.” God, I can just hear that voice in my head right now…
…but, that is the beauty of memories, they are not ephemeral, like human lives. Memories–particularly the best of memories–live on forever. I just count myself among the many, many lucky fans who have been touched by Harry Kalas. Thank you, Harry. Though your voice may be outta here, your soul will live on every time I hear an announcer say “stuck-him-OUT” or whenever I think of the name Mick-ey Mor-an-di-ni.
