Few have said it better today than my pals at Sports-Boards.net.:
"As if it didn't mean enough to the city
already, this just multiplies its value to any of us carrying any
affiiliation to the team."- Last Train
"Just ordered a carton of kleenex"- nycphillie
"Harry went out a champion."- LWolf
And truly hitting the ball out of the park:
"I am devastated. I think some of you younger people to whom Harry was THE voice, can have some understanding of how we felt when Whitey left us. It will be hard to listen and/or watch the team w/o the voice we have heard for so many years.
Here come the tears again...."- brett5355
Seeing Chris Wheeler get choked up as he tried to put on a happy face and Gary Mathews wiping a tear away....or Larry Shenk getting so choked he couldn't speak for a moment on the phone with Leslie Gudel, was tough to hear, but so meaningful. That was his other family and to know he left this world in the booth, is so unbelievably fitting.
On my own personal note, I met Harry as a fan and as a writer and he was no different in either situation. What you saw and heard is what you got. He greeted me warmly as I made my way down the hall toward the press box, my second time covering the Phils, and what I wanted to do was run and hide out of intimidation or tell him how much I appreciated him as a Phillies fan and baseball writer.
It is quite difficult to stand above the masses of media in today's sports world. Most try to do it by being loud or controversial. Not Harry Kalas. A time in Phillies history has ended, but so too has a golden day in broadcasting.
If dignity and class were worth billions of dollars, Harry would have been the richest man on earth.
"Harry went out a champion."- LWolf
And truly hitting the ball out of the park:
"I am devastated. I think some of you younger people to whom Harry was THE voice, can have some understanding of how we felt when Whitey left us. It will be hard to listen and/or watch the team w/o the voice we have heard for so many years.
Here come the tears again...."- brett5355
Seeing Chris Wheeler get choked up as he tried to put on a happy face and Gary Mathews wiping a tear away....or Larry Shenk getting so choked he couldn't speak for a moment on the phone with Leslie Gudel, was tough to hear, but so meaningful. That was his other family and to know he left this world in the booth, is so unbelievably fitting.
On my own personal note, I met Harry as a fan and as a writer and he was no different in either situation. What you saw and heard is what you got. He greeted me warmly as I made my way down the hall toward the press box, my second time covering the Phils, and what I wanted to do was run and hide out of intimidation or tell him how much I appreciated him as a Phillies fan and baseball writer.
It is quite difficult to stand above the masses of media in today's sports world. Most try to do it by being loud or controversial. Not Harry Kalas. A time in Phillies history has ended, but so too has a golden day in broadcasting.
If dignity and class were worth billions of dollars, Harry would have been the richest man on earth.
