Share Your Harry Kalas and Whitey Ashburn Memories
by WholeCamels on Apr 20, 2009 3:02 PM EDT
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PrintI think everyone has at least a couple memories of Harry Kalas that might not be from a "big moment." To the contrary, some of my favorite memories of Harry and Richie Ashburn were from some of the more mundane moments of the grim 1980s/1990s seasons that comprise most of my phandom.
1. Whitey freaked out when a pitch from a Phillies' pitcher was called a high ball, but that Whitey believed was a strike:
Whitey: "Oh, man! Where was that?!"
(pregnant pause)
Harry: "It was a little high, Whitey."
2. The Phillies bullpen for some time in the late 1980s included a pitcher named Wally Ritchie, an awkward, gangly lefthander who can probably best be said to physically resemble an unfinished clone.
During some interminable game, Harry and Whitey observed that Ritchie had a little ritual between pitches -- he'd catch the ball from the catcher or umpire, and then walk one complete, clumsy lap around the pitcher's mound. With nothing else worth reporting on, both Harry and Whitey became somewhat obsessed with this little maneuver. Eventually, Whitey lost it, and began laughing uncontrollably between pitches. Finally, after a couple times, Harry calmly and wryly said: "Having fun, Whitey?" The delivery was just perfect, and the written word does it no justice. Just imagine Harry saying it, please.
Anyway, please share yours below.
"If you love Whitey, love one another." - Harry Kalas, September 1997.
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I loved those little moments between the two
And nothing will really ever replace that. Talking about Whitey’s mom in Nebraska and the rain that would be in Chicago the next day…when the Phils would be in Houston. Or Whitey lamenting another rendition of the wave and Harry talking him down. Those were the greatest.
One of the other things that Harry Kalas did better than anyone ever (and Whitey fed off this) was when the Phils were down big (like 8-1) and the Phils would scratch a run across and have the bases loaded and then someone would hit a bases clearing double and Harry would say, “And it’s and eight to FIVE ballgame.” Whitey would say something like, “If they can push this next one across, they make this a ballgame again.”I loved that.
The call that I think showed them both in their element was the Mitchy-Poo call. Harry’s voice rising with the action, ecstatic that the Phils were going to pull one out and Whitey just screaming in the background, “Ohhhhh! OHHHHHHHHH!” Classic.
"It was almost like if Harry didn't call it, it wasn't real." - Jayson Stark
I wrote this somewhere on the internet...
…hopefully not here already.
Someone like Tim Corcoran batting…
Harry: The pitch…foul back this way…
Richie: OOMPH!
Harry: (something like) That ball hit my colleague Richie Ashburn. (giggling)
After some back and forth,
Richie: You could have warned me, Harry.
Harry: I DID say foul back this way. Traditionally the color man watches the game (giggling).
Richie: I was watching the monitor to see the pitch.
by EastFallowfield on Apr 20, 2009 3:44 PM EDT reply actions
This thread is biased against people who are not old enough to have clear memories of Harry Kalas and Richie Ashburn together.
really?
Never pegged you for a “kid.”
I was a college sophomore when Whitey died. Heard about it in my English Literature – American Humor class.
http://www.thegoodphight.com
I am not quite a kid (in that I can legally purchase alcohol). I was born in 1987 though, which made me 10 when Whitey died. I have only vague memories of him before then (despite the 1993 World Series marking the beginning of my love for the Phillies). Or at least I can’t recall with clarity any particular memorable moment between the two. At that age I was so completely enthralled with what was happening on the field that I didn’t spend much time appreciating the great announcing duo doing their thing. Looking back on it now, and reading these stories I realize that I missed out on something great.
I did, however, attend day camp with one of Ashburn’s grandsons.
It’s OK, FM, the Internet, online SABRmetrics, blogs, chatter, everything else is biased against people who are old enough to have clear memories of Harry and Whitey. Don’t worry, you’ll have your opportunity to file past Wheels’ casket.
by Wet Luzinski on Apr 20, 2009 5:35 PM EDT up reply actions
When Harry said my name
I met Harry and Whitey when I interned for the Pirates in 1997. I went up to them in the press dining room before the game and told them of my Phillies fandom and listening to them since I could remember. Whitey didn’t say much, but Harry asked me a few questions about what I wanted to do. They both signed a ball for me and Harry said “Here you go, Matthew, now have fun tonight.” The “Matthew” part has always stood out because I introduced myself as Matt and he decided to call me Matthew – which sounded like it had come out of the radio. Little did I know Whitey would pass away a few months later. A great memory.
trivia
I won the “Stump the Fans” trivia contest a few years back and got to hear Harry say my name on the air. I coulda die and gone to heaven. It was actually better than the crummy prize pack I got (Bulls BBQ apron, “High Hopes” DVD, “Phillies Magazine” from the previous season).
http://www.thegoodphight.com
OT: Is it me or have the prize packs gotten progressively suckier as the payroll increased? I also seem to remember a lot more cash being doled out during the payoff inning.
by Wet Luzinski on Apr 20, 2009 5:47 PM EDT up reply actions
Just loved when Whitey did play-by-play
There were occasions — maybe the team was short, someone was in the can, or whatever, but I swear I remember watching TV and listening to radio during those stretches where the call would go like:
“Here’s the pitch ……..[crack]…………ooh!..[crowd reaction]…………..and that’ll do it for the Phils — no runs, one hit, and one left on, we move to the bottom of the Xth, with the score, &c.”
The two in tandem—but especially working individually—made dead air an art form.
Harry DSM?
Not a memory but an armchair diagnosis— the relentless self-medication, signature theme song “High Hopes” —and the oddly sombre “Like a Bridge over Troubled Water” as a specific funeral request. It strikes me that these are the calling cards of a depressive personality. Or, it could be eccentric schmaltziness.
I’m not judging, mind you —such issues are common as dirt out there in the general population, but it is remarkable.
Right down the middle....
As a kid learning about baseball, I was always confused about the strike zone. My grandfather and father explained it to me. As they were explaining it, it all clicked. Later on, I remember being in the car with my dad and we were listening to a middling 90s Phillies team. And Harry called the pitch “Right down the middle for a ball” It cracked me up. It cracks me up now.
I also loved how he pronounced Lenny Dykstra.
When I got the news about Kalas I was in LA at the Dodgers home opener. They gave a wonderful moment of silence that showed that as an organization, they have a ton of class.
How About
Whatever It Takes Dude. The video documentary of the 93 Phillies. Harry co-narrated with Dykstra. Great stuff
"It was almost like if Harry didn't call it, it wasn't real." - Jayson Stark
"whatever it takes dude"
little did we know at the time, it apparently took steroids.
by Matt Swartz on Apr 21, 2009 12:50 AM EDT up reply actions
The Steelers under Chuck Noll in the 70's also...
…were big on “whatever it takes”: http://news.steelers.com/article/77774/
They were also big on taking whatever it takes, too:
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_328813.html
Fans are often blind to what is right in front of their faces.
Remember the Phitans
by RememberthePhitans on Apr 21, 2009 8:15 AM EDT up reply actions
Most of my memories of the pair
come from the ‘93 season. That marathon double header vs. the Padres (at which I remained until the end, only hearing the highlights later in replay)—their loopiness in the early hours of the morning; Harry’s call of the final play with Richie screaming “OH, OH, OH!”
It’s hard to put into words. It just felt like you were listening to family.
Sorry
Old enough to have vague memories of By Saam and Connie Mack Stadium.
I’m guessing all the romanticism of Harry on the radio is from people my age, when many of the home games either weren’t on TV in Philadelphia at all, or later on, were on something called PRISM and didn’t have Harry on the broadcasts (I think?)
The only downside to Harry and Richie’s elegant silences on the radio was when you were far away and trying to tune it in through the static. Most announcers fill up every second of space and make it easier to find them. I can recall hearing static that sounded like it might be a baseball game and waiting for what felt like half a minute until Harry would say, “The stretch, the pitch…”
by EastFallowfield on Apr 21, 2009 11:16 AM EDT reply actions
PRISM
I remember Kent Tekulve being on PRISM, but I forget who did play-by-play.
http://www.thegoodphight.com
by WholeCamels on Apr 21, 2009 11:23 AM EDT up reply actions
I remember that as well (though I don’t go back to Saam and Bill Campbell)—particularly if I was driving at night hundreds of miles away, as sometimes happened, those pauses while waiting for the gents to speak could be frustrating. But the thrill of hearing that I had in fact “found” Harry and Whitey more than made up for it.
I always found a deep sense of satisfaction when I could peg the dead air/ background crowd buzz of Phillies games, discerning from other games and static.
I thought Andy Musser did play-by-play on PRISM?
by Wet Luzinski on Apr 21, 2009 4:11 PM EDT up reply actions
No Cable, No PRISM
For years, there was no cable out in the wilds of suburbia to even get PRISM, which doesn’t help the memory. We did occasionally visit friends ‘in town’ for big games on that channel.
by EastFallowfield on Apr 21, 2009 5:51 PM EDT reply actions
Andy, Wheels and Garry on PRISM
Someone says that was the combo. I do seem to remember that group.
Remember watching Harry on the TV, turning the radio on when he switched over and muted the Musser on TV, then back to regular TV when Harry returned.
by EastFallowfield on Apr 21, 2009 5:56 PM EDT reply actions
One more Harry...
…relevant to tonight’s score: how he would say the number -
Eee—Oh-Leven!!!
BTW, though fans had mostly left by then, Phils did play “High Hopes” at the 7th inning stretch. No “Take Me out to the Ballgame.” Dunno if this will go on all season or just the remainder of the homestand.
another mundane moment
Some really poor-hitting pitcher like Don Carman or Bruce Ruffin once was batting for the Phils, and managed to work a 3-0 count.
Harry: Three balls and no strikes. He’ll take one, maybe two.
(pause)
Whitey: Maybe three.
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