Harry Kalas dead at 73

[fryingdutchman]

Just came across the wire...

Harry Kalas collapsed in the press box at Washington Nationals stadium this afternoon, and was rushed to a nearby hospital where he later died.

More info to come...

One of the legendary voices of sports broadcasters, and did tons of voiceover work in commercials.

Pay some respects to Harry.

R.I.P., and tell Whitey Ashburn "hello" from all of us. We're counting on both of you for some divine intervention in the form of a Phillies World Series repeat.

[fryingdutchman]

Just in from the Philadelphia Inquirer...

Phils announcer Harry Kalas dies

BY THE INQUIRER STAFF

Harry Kalas, the Phillies' Hall of Fame announcer, died at 1:20 p.m. today, the Phillies announced.

Mr. Kalas collapsed in the press box at Nationals Stadium in Washington at about 12:30 p.m. and was rushed to George Washington University Medial Center.

The cause of the death was not announced. Today's game against the Nationals will be played, but the team will not visit the White House tomorrow.

"We lost Harry today," David Montgomery, the team president, said. "We lost our voice."

Mr. Kalas, who was found unconsious, missed most of spring training after undergoing undisclosed surgery in Feburary. That surgery was unrelated to the detached retina that sidelined him for part of last season.

Mr. Kalas, who turned 73 on March 26, has broadcast Phillies games since 1971. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002 as the recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award. He is entering the final season of a 3-year contract that he signed in December 2006.

[High Life Man]

Mark "The Bird" Fidrych also died today.

Oddly, they were showing one of his games against the Yankees this past Saturday night.

[redblkwht]

Was he the guy from NFL films? I heard that today &
a friend at wk said no..I'm guessing yes. any comments?

RIP Harry.

[fryingdutchman]

Was he the guy from NFL films? I heard that today &
a friend at wk said no..I'm guessing yes. any comments?

RIP Harry.

Yes...he most certainly was. Kalas had a history with NFL films that spanned about 3 decades.

Some more from his Wiki...

In addition to his work with the Phillies and NFL Films, Kalas called various sports over the years for CBS Radio and Westwood One (including the NFL, MLB, college basketball, and Notre Dame football) and lent his voice to commercials for the Campbell Soup Company and GMC Truck. Kalas also 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, and for many years narrated "Alcoa Fantastic Finishes" in-game highlights spots during NFL telecasts. He also lent his voice for narration of the PBS 39 documentary on the Lehigh-Lafayette Rivalry produced in 2004.

He also narrated/commentated Animal Planet's Puppy Bowls I-V from 2005-2009.[5]

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

Harry was the voice in the commercials for the movie Leatherheads.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

As a Pirate fan, I've probably heard the 500th home run call for "Michael Jack Schmidt" against the Pirates 100 times.... And another 50 today....

[fryingdutchman]

As a Pirate fan, I've probably heard the 500th home run call for "Michael Jack Schmidt" against the Pirates 100 times.... And another 50 today....

:biggrin:

Yeah...

Never gets old, does it?:biggrin:

[fryingdutchman]

Where the hell is everyone from the Philly/NJ/Delaware area?

I know a lot of you are out there...

Every TV and radio station in the area has been non-stop Harry tributes since lunchtime yesterday!

C'mon Army Phillies fans! Give some love to Harry the K!

[At0micPunk]

R.I.P Harry!

I only just joined here but I'm also very saddened by his passing. Harry was the Phillies and it is just odd and a little empty to not have him with us anymore.
It's kinda poetic how he finally got to announce a world series championship victory last year and basically passed away attempting to do what he loved.

As gentle and gentlemanly as he seemed he did love to drink hard and live hard. Sadly that didn't help his heart.

It was cool and touching to see all the tributes on DN Live and other shows. So many great stories. Harry was one of those guys who would stay until the last autograph was signed with a smile and treated even the "smallest" person as someone of "importance". Many stories about how he as a HOF announcer would help mentor a rookie in the press box and give advice instead of being a prick and preferring they stay out of his way.

Awesome guy and sorely missed.