Harry Kalas - Death

Death

Kalas died of heart disease on Monday, April 13, 2009, in Washington, D.C. He had collapsed in the Nationals Park press box at approximately 12:30 pm, several hours before the Washington Nationals' home opener against the Phillies. Kalas was rushed to George Washington University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 1:20 pm EDT. "We lost Harry ," David Montgomery, the team president, said. "We lost our voice." Before the game began, Kalas' death was announced to the crowd, his picture was displayed on the scoreboard, and the stadium observed a minute of silence. The Phillies went on to win the game, 9–8. The Phillies saluted Kalas by placing a picture of him in their dugout during the game. Center fielder Shane Victorino also saluted Kalas after hitting a solo home run by pointing up to the press box where Kalas would have called the game. Phillies fans created a makeshift memorial at the Mike Schmidt statue outside of Citizens Bank Park (at the Third Base Gate) shortly after Kalas's death was announced.

Kalas suffered from atherosclerosis and hypertension in his later years, but those illnesses did not seem to affect his announcing abilities; he had called the Phillies/Rockies game in Denver on April 12, the day before his death. Kalas was in his 39th season with the Phillies.

Though the Phillies were scheduled to visit the White House on April 14 to celebrate their 2008 World Series championship, the visit was postponed so that the day could be set aside to remember Kalas. Their White House visit was pushed back to May 15, coinciding with the Phillies' next scheduled visit to town to play the Nationals.

On Friday, April 17, 2009, Kalas' three children, Todd (himself a former Phillies broadcaster), Brad, and Kane, threw out the ceremonial first pitches before the Phillies first home game after Kalas' death at Citizens Bank Park to Mike Schmidt, John Kruk, and Jimmy Rollins, representatives of the three decades of Phillies baseball with Kalas. Following a moment of silence, Kane sang the national anthem.

The next day, Kalas became the fourth person to be given the honor of having their body lie in repose inside a major-league baseball stadium — after Babe Ruth, Jack Buck, and Miller Huggins — when his casket was displayed behind home plate and fans were encouraged to pay their respects at Citizens Bank Park. Kalas' casket was passed along by friends, broadcast partners, and every player on the Phillies team roster, before it was placed in a hearse which carried him out of Citizens Bank Park one final time.

After leaving the ballpark, Kalas' body was laid to rest in a private service at Philadelphia's historic Laurel Hill Cemetery. His gravesite is situated on a scenic bluff above the Schuylkill River, overlooking the city he so loved.

In August 2009, two pairs of seats from Veterans Stadium were installed at his graveside, one pair on each side, facing each other at a 45° angle.

In the summer of 2010, a headstone was added to the grave, and the fan-made plywood "P" was removed as was the bronze plaque with his likeness. The headstone consists of a granite microphone with the letters "HK" in the middle and a likeness of Kalas' autograph (which includes the "HOF 2002" that Kalas added to his autographs after his receipt of the Ford C. Frick Award) at the microphone's base, and that sits on top of a raised base shaped like a home plate. Engraved in the base are the following words:

On September 29, 2010, Kalas' grave was resurfaced with sod that originally came from Citizens Bank Park, which was previously removed for the 2009 season when that stadium was re-sodded. The sod had been preserved in live condition for sale to fans at a southern New Jersey sod farm that deals in sod for sports arenas. That farm donated a portion of the former Citizens Bank Park sod when a fan, who volunteers at Laurel Hill Cemetery, contacted that farm regarding using that sod on Kalas' grave in Kalas' memory, as Kalas himself had walked on that sod, and had called the 2008 World Series victory which had come on that very grass.

During the winter of 2011-2012, a baseball quote by A. Bartlett Giamatti was added to the top of the home plate-shaped plinth of the tombstone. It reads,

Baseball is about going home, and how hard it is to get there and how driven is our need. It tells us how good home is. Its wisdom says you can go home again but you cannot stay. The journey must start once more, the bat an oar over the shoulder, until there is an end to all journeying.