ESPN and other major news outlets are reporting that legendary and longtime Phillies TV and play-by-play voice Harry Kalas is dead at 73. Kalas was found passed out this afternoon in the Phillies' broadcast booth at Nationals Park in Washington as he was preparing to cover this afternoon's Phillies-Nationals game.
Kalas, most famous for his "outta here" home run calls, also became a household voice narrating highlights for NFL Films and also voiced many TV spots, most recently for Campbell's Chunky Soup, which featured such NFL stars as Eagles' quarterback Donovan McNabb and Chargers' running back LaDanian Tomlinson.
Kalas, who was awarded the Ford C. Frick Award for contributions to baseball, also was a radio play-by-play voice for Westwood One's NFL broadcasts. Kalas's son, Todd was briefly the host of Mets Extra on WFAN-AM, shortly after its 1987 debut.
Well, I took you up on your offer Gil. I'm very impressed. This is a nice format and nice words about Kalas. I live in PA and have had to watch Phillie games for decades. Even though Kalas never converted me, he had a wonderful voice and you could tell he loved his job and his Phillies. Guys like him are good for the game. (Harry Chiti)
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