Kalas, longtime Phillies voice, dies at 73

WASHINGTON -- Radio and TV broadcaster Harry Kalas, whose baritone delivery and signature "Outta here!" home run calls provided the soundtrack to Philadelphia baseball for nearly four decades, died Monday after collapsing in the broadcast booth before the Phillies' game against the Washington Nationals. He was 73.

Some of the more memorable notes in Kalas' illustrious broadcasting career:
• Six no-hitters
• Mike Schmidt's 500th home run on April 18, 1987
• Every one of Steve Carlton's starts from 1972 to '86
• Pete Rose's 3,631st career hit on Aug. 10, 1981 (which broke Stan Musial's NL record)
• First game at the Houston Astrodome, April 12, 1965
• First game at Veterans Stadium, April 10, 1971
• First game at Citizens Bank Park, April 12, 2004
• Was in his 43rd year as a MLB broadcaster
• Phillies broadcaster since 1971; member of original Astros broadcast team in 1965
• Inducted into the broadcaster's wing of the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002
• Named Pennsylvania Sportscaster of the Year 18 times


"We lost our voice today," Phillies president David Montgomery said. "He has loved our game and made just a tremendous contribution to our sport and certainly to our organization."

Familiar to millions of sports fans outside Philadelphia for his voice-over work with NFL Films, "Harry the K" was beloved at home. Since 1971, he was the man who was the bearer of news -- good and bad -- to those who followed the losingest franchise in major professional sports.

When the Phillies won their second World Series title last fall, Kalas -- who normally called only the middle three innings on radio -- was in the booth for the last out of the clincher. He then joined the on-field celebration, grabbing a microphone to sing Frank Sinatra's "High Hopes."

That song was among several Kalas standbys that endeared him to Phillies supporters. Another: He would call homers by a certain Hall of Fame third baseman by noting the player's full name -- "Michael Jack Schmidt."

Many people asked Kalas to record outgoing messages on answering machines -- or more recently, cell phone voice mail -- using his "Outta here!" line. And he always complied with those requests, said Phillies radio broadcaster Scott Franzke.
"Players come and go," Franzke said, "but 'Outta here!' -- that's forever."

Kalas didn't get to call the final out of Philadelphia's other title, in 1980, because Major League Baseball prevented local broadcasts of the World Series games. But Phillies fans complained and the rule was later changed.

A recipient of the Baseball Hall of Fame's Ford C. Frick Award for his contributions to the game, Kalas was one of the last longtime announcers closely associated with one city. Another, Vin Scully, threw out the first pitch at the Los Angeles Dodgers' home opener Monday, marking his own 60th year with that club.

Tirico & Van Pelt

Jayson Stark shares his memories of Harry Kalas only hours after his tragic passing. Jayson was not only a colleague, but also a friend of the Kalas family.

"He was not only a multitalented fellow with a wonderful voice. He was a lovely guy. I mean, everybody liked Harry. The city of Philadelphia will just be in mourning because they loved him so much," Scully said. "I'm happy for him that his team was world champions last year, so he had the thrill of that."

The Nationals and Phillies discussed whether it would be appropriate to postpone the game, but Montgomery said Kalas "would have wanted to play the game." There was a moment of silence in Kalas' memory before the first pitch in Washington and at other baseball stadiums around the country Monday.

The Phillies had been scheduled to meet President Barack Obama at the White House on Tuesday, a day off, to be honored as World Series champions, but the event was postponed. A new date has not been set, Obama spokesman Josh Earnest said.

To a whole generation of football fans, Kalas also was a signature figure.
Joining NFL Films as a narrator in 1975, he did the voiceover for "Inside the NFL" from 1977 through 2008.

Kalas predecessor John Facenda "was the 'Voice of God' and Harry Kalas was the 'Voice of the People,'" NFL Films president Steve Sabol said in a written statement.
"In many ways, Harry is the narrator of our memories. His voice lives on not only on film, but inside the heads of everyone who has watched and listened to NFL Films."
Kalas also was the voice for Chunky Soup commercials and Animal Planet's annual tongue-in-cheek Super Bowl competitor, the Puppy Bowl.


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