Harry Kalas, gone 11 years ago today

When you think of Phillies baseball, there are certainly some names that jump to mind. Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, Bryce Harper. The list could literally go on and on.

For some people though, it isn’t a face that pops into their minds when they think of Phillies baseball. It’s a voice. It’s the voice of the man who many of us can recall from our childhood, whether that was listening to him on Channel 17, Prism, or some other avenue of entertainment, the voice of Harry Kalas is almost as famous as the man’s face. His enthusiasm for the team, for the game, for the small details of the sport he loved always came through in every broadcast. Sure he slowed a bit towards the end. Who cared? No one really was paying attention whenever a small mistake was made. Just having him call a game was worth tuning in for. While Tom McCarthy has admirably tried to step into Kalas’s white patent leather shoes in handling the play-by-play duties, there really never will be anyone who can replace the man. He was a legend in this city.

Kalas passed away 11 years ago today. It seems like it was yesterday when Kalas and his best friend Whitey were trying to order pizzas by code during a particularly long broadcast, when he got excited about a hustle play from second by Utley that scored a run, leading to the branding of Utley forever as “The Man”. It’s still difficult not to wish that there was still one game, one more time we could have him broadcast just one more meaningless August evening game.

With that in mind, here are a few clips of some of Kalas’s more famous calls.

Feel free to share your thoughts and/or favorite Kalas calls in the comments below.