Shuffle Along

Games 5, 6 & 7 - Phillies

Phillies 8 Rocks 4

Phillies 7, Rocks 5

Phillies 9, gNats 8

Record: 4 wins, 3 losses

The first I can remember hearing Harry's voice was sometime in the dog days of summer 1979. By now, you probably have heard or read many accounts of the beloved voice of the Phillies and of NFL films. Many odes have been written in newspapers and blogs. Harry's face has popped up all over ESPN and the MLB Network along with another mortal baseball legend, Mark Fidrych. I have not much to add. Certainly there is nothing I can say better than Bill Conlin or Jayson Stark or any of the hundreds of Phillies who have been giving their Harry Kalas testimony these past few days. All I can say is this: During the summer of 1979, I discovered that you could pick up Phillies games from the opposite end of Pennsylvania on a little crappy transistor radio. I remember how quiet the broadcast booth was in comparison to the local blabbler mouths in Pittsburgh. Inning by inning, Harry and Whitey. Harry with the play-by-play and little else spoken. Whitey with an occasional observation that may or may not have been the product of his baseball wisdom.

Broadcasters, it has been said, are the voice of a team. For a kid who admires a team from afar, the broadcaster is the team.

So long Harry. May the Lord bless you and keep you and shine his light upon you in eternity.