Harry Kalas Collapses and Dies in Phillies Broadcast booth

[King Hippos Bandaid]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090413/ap_on_sp_ba_ne/bbn_phillies_kalas_hospitalized_5

wow, he was my favorite current announcer, this really sucks

RIP


He was the 1 thing i liked about Philly, besides their Cheesesteak

[Tallman388]

That blows, Harry Kalas is one of my favorite play by play voices ever.

[King Hippos Bandaid]

eww, the voice of inside the NFL and many national football /baseball games

you just stick his death in the Phillies thread

for shame!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[razorboy]

Ernie Harwell was always my favorite broadcaster, but Kalas was one of the greats. I'm glad to have his kid as a member of the Rays broadcast team. RIP.

[Snoogans]

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I hate fuckin Philly and their teams. But man, no one could hate this guy

[EddieMoscone]

MICKY MORANDINI...

I can still hear him saying that in my head. I hate the Phils, but Kalas was the man.

[A.J.]

Poor Ronnie B.

[ChrisTheCop]

I hate fuckin Philly and their teams. But man, no one could hate this guy

Well said.

Seems like he died doing what he loved doing, and you cant ask for more than that.

R.I.P.

[KingGeno]

I'm completely crushed by this, but I knew it was going to happen.

Looking back upon my youth right now, and thinkin' about watching the phillies with my father my whole life. We share baseball. Phillies memorabilia, going to games, watchin' games with my dad. It's very similar to how Ronnie felt in his baseball and dads audio in the file gallery. I'm looking back at like every good thing I ever felt that he called, and it is really personal. I'm tearin' up typin this just thinkin about it. I kind know how my dad feels now when he talks about Richie 'Whitey' Ashburn. It's like I lost a really close special friend.

RIP Harry. :glurps:

[TheMojoPin]

One of the best baseball announcers ever. Very sad news.

[JerseyRich]

Would you really want to call a Washington Nationals game?

[Freitag]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090413/ap_on_sp_ba_ne/bbn_phillies_kalas_hospitalized_5

wow, he was my favorite current announcer, this really sucks

RIP


He was the 1 thing i liked about Philly, besides their Cheesesteak

FWIW, he died in the Visitors' Booth at Nationals Park, not the Phillies Broadcast Booth.

And look, hippo makes a post about food.

It's a sad loss.

RIP Harry.

[razorboy]

Would you really want to call a Washington Nationals game?

Boooooooooooo.

[WampusCrandle]

:down:

[Freitag]

They were supposed to go to the White House today, that's been cancelled.

[Hottub]

How about that.

[drjoek]

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[Freitag]

How about that.

that was mel allen

[Freitag]

Tomorrow's opening song: "Philadelphia" by Neil Young

[TheMojoPin]

The Expos' evil continues.

[JerseyRich]

Boooooooooooo.

Too soon?

[razorboy]

Too soon?

You knew it was before you hit submit reply.

[A.J.]

The Expos' evil continues.

Yeah but usually the only thing they kill is hope.

[SHWA25GUNNER]

The Expos' evil continues.

nice.

The Curse of Youpi.http://www.cliffpavlovic.com/images/stuff/youppi.jpg

[Freitag]

So to use a hack stat people like to use early in the season, we're averaging a major death every 3 games! All right!

[King Hippos Bandaid]

So to use a hack stat people like to use early in the season, we're averaging a major death every 3 games! All right!

looks like you are putting Vin Scully on notice

[NickyL0885]

Gary Cohen is so much better.

[JerseyRich]

Gary Cohen is so much better.

Bwahahahahahahahahhahahahaha.

[razorboy]

Gary Cohen is so much better.

Enjoy Hell, blasphemer.

[SHWA25GUNNER]

from Vin Scully's call last week (copied from will leitch blog):

“If I may speak for every member of the Dodger organization, our heartfelt and deepest sympathies to the mother and family of Nick Adenhart, and to every member in the Angels organization, for the untimely accident and death of young Nick last night at the tender age of twenty-two.

Nick, from Maryland, had pitched six scoreless innings and was in a car with three friends, and a driver apparently went through a red light and T-boned the car, killing three of the four, including Nick, and one other member is in critical condition.

And if there is one thing I’ve learned in all my years — and I haven’t learned much — but the one thing I’ve learned: Don’t even waste your time trying to figure out life.
Ground ball through for Andre Ethier, and life continues for those who still have it. And with a leadoff single, Russell Martin will be coming up.

But I would say, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to take a moment and say a prayer in memory for Nick, especially for his parents. What a shock to lose a twenty-two-year-old.

Andre Ethier at first base, Russell Martin the batter, James Loney on deck, and the Dodgers try to strike in the second inning against Kevin Correia.”

[King Hippos Bandaid]

Gary Cohen is so much better.

:lol:

silly (homo) homer

Harry Kalas was better than Jack Buck imo

[TheMojoPin]

The Puppy Bowl will never be the same.

[realmenhatelife]

The game is going to be too depressing to listen to today.

[MikeB]

noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

[NickyL0885]

Enjoy Hell, blasphemer.

o pish posh

[Freitag]

looks like you are putting Vin Scully on notice

I bring my A game EVERY DAY.

[razorboy]

o pish posh

I don't understand your gay slang.

[drusilla]

The Puppy Bowl will never be the same.

:glurps:

i really only knew him as the voice of the NFL. this is really sad. he just had such a great voice to listen to.

it's a shame & he will be missed.

[MacVittie]

Baseball lost an icon today. Rest in peace.

[PD]

I hate fuckin Philly and their teams. But man, no one could hate this guy

agreed.
as I said in the Phillies thread, Harry was a classy man with a great voice.
he will be missed.

[hammersavage]

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I hate fuckin Philly and their teams. But man, no one could hate this guy

So help me god, if my teams announcer ever acted so unprofessional like that absolute jackass behind Kalas, I would never listen to them again. Kalas is composed and doing his job and the faggot behind him is doing the cabbage patch. Grow up and do your job you animal.

(and I'll say 'too bad the Mets will never have that problem' before any of you no life hacks do it)

[Dave's Cackle]

So to use a hack stat people like to use early in the season, we're averaging a major death every 3 games! All right!

The D/9 (Death Per Nine Innings) stat will cause the SABR geeks to cream their tighty whiteys

[Freitag]

As a question, the game is going on right now. Who is doing the local Phillies call? I would imagine that the color guy would be too broken up to do it alone. Do they have a national feed to pump in, or did they use the Home Team's feed?

[styckx]

Sucks.. Someone at another place I read summed up Harry perfect and I couldn't agree w/ this more.. Sucks a lot. R.I.P.

Harry's voice was summer. Harry's voice was ice cream and the faint sound of a lawnmower and the smell of freshly cut grass. Harry's voice was being off from school, laying on the couch during a warm summer evening with the windows open, watching baseball with Grandpa. Hard to imagine not having that anymore.

[TripleSkeet]

So help me god, if my teams announcer ever acted so unprofessional like that absolute jackass behind Kalas, I would never listen to them again. Kalas is composed and doing his job and the faggot behind him is doing the cabbage patch. Grow up and do your job you animal.

(and I'll say 'too bad the Mets will never have that problem' before any of you no life hacks do it)

Thats Wheels behind him and the reason hes doing that is because the Phillies had just won the World Series and all the announcers had agreed to total silence so Harry could make the call. I dont have a problem with it at all.

Man, summer will never be the same again.

[Freitag]

Sucks.. Someone at another place I read summed up Harry perfect and I couldn't agree w/ this more.. Sucks a lot. R.I.P.

Beautiful sentiment. You can say the same thing about Bob Murphy and the current set of Mets broadcasters... you cannot say the same thing about John Sterling and Suzyn.

[styckx]

Thats Wheels behind him and the reason hes doing that is because the Phillies had just won the World Series and all the announcers had agreed to total silence so Harry could make the call. I dont have a problem with it at all.

^ Exactly. Anyone who would have a problem with that is retarded.

Man, summer will never be the same again.

Amen..

[Freitag]

Thats Wheels behind him and the reason hes doing that is because the Phillies had just won the World Series and all the announcers had agreed to total silence so Harry could make the call. I dont have a problem with it at all.

Man, summer will never be the same again.

As opposed to Charley Steiner totally curbstomping Sterling when the Yankees won the 2003 ALCS, still one of my favorite calls of all times.

[hammersavage]

^ Exactly. Anyone who would have a problem with that is retarded.



Amen..

I'm not retarded!

Just don't jump up and down like a monkey. Do your job and be composed like a broadcaster. Kalas is all class, no doubt.

[TheMojoPin]

He was doing his job. He was staying silent and letting Harry make the call. Those guys' jobs are to be heard and not seen. Who gives a crap if some shitty YouTube video shows up with him going nuts AS HIS TEAM WINS THE WORLD SERIES?

[hammersavage]

He was doing his job. He was staying silent and letting Harry make the call. Those guys' jobs are to be heard and not seen. Who gives a crap if some shitty YouTube video shows up with him going nuts AS HIS TEAM WINS THE WORLD SERIS?

I do a little. I appreciate broadcasters who can contain themselves without dancing like a fucking monkey. I guess since it wasn't on the air and was just a stupid video, perhaps I over reacted. Like a retard. I just have a pet peeve with broadcasters being fans but I suppose this was an acceptable moment.

On a separate note, it's just broadcasters who don't make the calls about themselves are a dying breed (pun completely intended). Kalas always seemed to know the moment and used his voice to make the call. It pains me to hear those douchebag White Sox broadcasters who openly root and cry during good/bad moments or Sterling who makes every homerun call about himself.

[styckx]

I do a little. I appreciate broadcasters who can contain themselves without dancing like a fucking monkey. I guess since it wasn't on the air and was just a stupid video, perhaps I over reacted. Like a retard. I just have a pet peeve with broadcasters being fans but I suppose this was an acceptable moment.

On a separate note, it's just broadcasters who don't make the calls about themselves are a dying breed (pun completely intended). Kalas always seemed to know the moment and used his voice to make the call. It pains me to hear those douchebag White Sox broadcasters who openly root and cry during good/bad moments or Sterling who makes every homerun call about himself.

Couldn't agree with you more here. To many announcers try to call every aspect of the game and fill voids in play with useless bullshit. (et hem, I'm talking to you Joe Buck).

Loved Harry, he let the game speak for itself and just called batters, pitchers, and strikes and outs. It made you feel like you were at the game. He would announce the batter coming up, then just stop talking and let the crowd noise go over the air, the faint call of the beer guy, a stadium announcement until the pitch was about to be thrown.

[K.C.]

I'm just gutted by this.

The only way I can really describe is like when your grandfather dies.

Harry is literally apart of almost every baseball memory I have.

Now I'm stuck with Chris Wheeler for eternity...god, that's depressing.

[hammersavage]

See! I knew that guy Wheeler blew.

[K.C.]

See! I knew that guy Wheeler blew.

Oh, he's an asshole.

But Mojo was right...he actually did the right thing and shut up during that clip.





Big Matt Stairs is Harry's final HR call. Glad I watched the game yesterday.

[PD]

jayson stark on Kalas death.

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[scottinnj]

I was three when he came to the Phillies to broadcast. I've never known a game they played without hearing him, on TV or radio.

This is devestating to us, as a family personally. I can't believe how bad this hurts.

[Gvac]

Absolutely awful news.

I guess the only consolation is that Harry got to see the Phils win a World Series last fall and made a living doing what he loved.

[Friday]

I guess the only consolation is that Harry got to see the Phils win a World Series last fall and made a living doing what he loved.

Absolutely.

It's really amazing how these guys become such and important part of our every day experiences as fans of baseball. The response to his death has been a true testament to his life's work.

RIP

[PigShitIrish]

Absolutely devastating!

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[KEITHJAY]

all the good ones are almost gone:sad:

[PerryWinkle]

Sad sad day for Philly


RIP Harry the K

[K.C.]

I was three when he came to the Phillies to broadcast. I've never known a game they played without hearing him, on TV or radio.

This is devestating to us, as a family personally. I can't believe how bad this hurts.

Baseball's never going to be the same for Phils fans.

I guess Tom McCarthy will take over play-by-play. I've always liked him, and I think he'll do a good job. But it's just going to be different now.

Harry was such a throwback. The announcers that have come along in the last 10 years or so...they're all trained to talk the same way, with the same vocal inflections, and it's very non-personal.

Plus, you just have to appreciate a guy who would sit in the booth with a bottle of whiskey and smoke cigars during the game, back in his heyday.


At least we got to hear this...I can't think of a better way to go out:
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[cougarjake13]

rip harry


sucks that he did it in booth



guess we should be glad that it didnt happen live during the game

[razorboy]

sucks that he did it in booth

Why does it suck? That's the most poetic thing about it.

[underdog]

guess we should be glad that it didnt happen live during the game

It would have been awesome if he died live during the game right after making a comment about how big Ryan Howard's nostrils are.

[cougarjake13]

Why does it suck? That's the most poetic thing about it.

just cause all the people there in booth , maybe fans etc

[scottinnj]

The game today being broadcasted on XM was an away game for the Phils, which usually means the home team broadcasters do the play by play on XM. But today, they made an exception and allowed the Phils to do the broadcast.

It was a real emotional game for all of us, and you could tell it was hard for the Philly crew to get through the game.
We love you Harry. You were one of us, a real baseball fan and Phillies fan. We always have and always will.
Again, thank you Washington Nationals, Nats fans and XM Radio. That was a real class act you all did for Philadelphia, and at least for me, it won't be forgotten.

[K.C.]

Phillies smoke cigarettes in the dugout before the game in honor of Harry:

http://media.philly.com/images/PhilliesSmoke3.gif

http://media.philly.com/images/howardsmoke2.gif


The image of Harry lighting up a massive cigar in the booth, while Whitey sits next to him with his shades, smokers jacket, and pipe is still one of my favorites.

[Fallon]

http://i41.tinypic.com/w1eb5t.jpg

[hammersavage]

SportsCenter made it look like he was better known as the voice of the Phils, which I guess he is. But to me, he is the voice of every slow-mo NFL highlight I've ever seen. I grew up loving Inside the NFL and NFL Films.

[TheMojoPin]

SportsCenter made it look like he was better known as the voice of the Phils, which I guess he is. But to me, he is the voice of every slow-mo NFL highlight I've ever seen. I grew up loving Inside the NFL and NFL Films.

Definitely.

The man made "the frozen tundra of..." sound so epic.

[KingGeno]

There are tons of shows on right now about him. All I keep thinking about is how every Phillies game I've ever watched or listened to has been with him. And I watched almost every Phillies game with my father. We are real close, and this is pretty devatating for both of us, just like the rest of the Phillies/Baseball fans.

I never thought that the loss of someone in a sport could impact me so much, but it keeps bringing me back to all the games I've ever seen, all the fun things or stressful things I've done while watching games, etc. Most of all was watching games with my dad. It didn't matter if the Phillies sucked balls or were doing the most outrageous asskicking possible. Harry the K always kept the balance, always explained just the game to you most of the time, and never sugarcoated or twisted or brought ya down when they were at their worst (which was most of the time). He was one of the nicest and kindest men around.

I get to take two of the happiest moments in my life with me to the end of my time: watching my father react when the Phillies won the World Series, and then watching Harry the K finally get to call a World Series winning call that he deserved. (Local broadcaster weren't allowed to cover back in 1980 when the Phillies last won...that was changed the year after because Philly fans crushed MLB for doing that.)

Anyway, RIP Harry K. Hope all of you baseball fans, regardless of team affiliation, can enjoy someone so much like Philly loved Harry the K. Truly a loss felt for the next couple generations.

[Suspect Chin]

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Look for the appearance from 1985 Ron Bennington at the end. I think this is right after he became the "Hit King", left the show, and called on-air Fez to let him know he and ESD were lining up shots.

[tbagnu]

There are tons of shows on right now about him. All I keep thinking about is how every Phillies game I've ever watched or listened to has been with him. And I watched almost every Phillies game with my father. We are real close, and this is pretty devatating for both of us, just like the rest of the Phillies/Baseball fans.

I never thought that the loss of someone in a sport could impact me so much, but it keeps bringing me back to all the games I've ever seen, all the fun things or stressful things I've done while watching games, etc. Most of all was watching games with my dad. It didn't matter if the Phillies sucked balls or were doing the most outrageous asskicking possible. Harry the K always kept the balance, always explained just the game to you most of the time, and never sugarcoated or twisted or brought ya down when they were at their worst (which was most of the time). He was one of the nicest and kindest men around.

I get to take two of the happiest moments in my life with me to the end of my time: watching my father react when the Phillies won the World Series, and then watching Harry the K finally get to call a World Series winning call that he deserved. (Local broadcaster weren't allowed to cover back in 1980 when the Phillies last won...that was changed the year after because Philly fans crushed MLB for doing that.)

Anyway, RIP Harry K. Hope all of you baseball fans, regardless of team affiliation, can enjoy someone so much like Philly loved Harry the K. Truly a loss felt for the next couple generations.

Amen Geno!!! ..you have so summed it up!! The voice of my summer's past is now gone! It just wont feel the same! Rest in Peace Harry the K!!!

[Furtherman]

I'm heartbroken over this. Such a sad shock. I'm glad I was in Philadelphia over the weekend and got to hear him call the games against Colorado. A backyard BBQ or sitting on the beach in the summer just won't be the same again. HIP Harry.

That ball is outta heeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrre!

[Freitag]

Definitely.

The man made "the frozen tundra of..." sound so epic.

That was Facenda, not Kalas.

[TheMojoPin]

He may have done it first, but it's Kalas' version that sticks.

[TripleSkeet]

SportsCenter made it look like he was better known as the voice of the Phils, which I guess he is. But to me, he is the voice of every slow-mo NFL highlight I've ever seen. I grew up loving Inside the NFL and NFL Films.

You have to realize, that as well known as he is for NFL Films, the "voice of NFL Films" will always be (Philadelphia Native) John Facenda.

Not to mention hed been calling Phillies games for 38 years.

Oh for those on Facebook, an awesome idea...
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=78015635727&ref=nf

[TheMojoPin]

Is Facenda really still "the voice of NFL films?"

I mean, the guy died 25 years ago. I'm sure he left his mark, but Kalas took over a while ago and ran with it.

[Tenbatsuzen]

He may have done it first, but it's Kalas' version that sticks.

Correction. Neither of them said it. It was a Berman thing that people thought Facenda said.

[TheMojoPin]

Fuckin' Berman. What a shitbag.

All I know is that Kalas narrated the old NFL Films tape about the Bears' SB season and I watched that thing at least a hundred times. He's the voice of the NFL to me.

[skyscraper]

anyone going to the funeral at the ballpark tomorrow? I'll be there early, but probably won't stick around for the on-field tributes in the afternoon.