Harry Kalas was the voice of the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team for many years, acting as their lead play-by-play announcer. Unfortunately, he did on April 13, 2009 from a heart attack in Washington D.C. a few hours before a game.
The team’s next home game was immediately turned into a tribute to the commentator. As well as fans leaving flowers, pictures, baseball caps, notes, and letters, Harry’s son Kane sang the national anthem.
Losing a parent is never easy and having to show your face in public and lead a mixture of sentimental grief and a celebration of the deceased person’s life must be a nightmare. As you can see, Kane and the rest of the Kalas family did a great job of striking the right balance.
All three of Harry’s sons – Todd, Brad and Kane – threw the ceremonial first pitches to Michael Jack Schmidt, John Kruk, and Jimmy Rollins, who were present in order to represent the three generations of Phillies teams who played during Kalas’s remarkable career.
A fitting tribute to a man who has a place in many people’s hearts.
