Hall of Fame sportscaster Harry Kalas died Monday afternoon in the press box as the Philadelphia Phillies were getting ready to play in Washington in the Nationals home opener.
Kalas, who had surgery for an undisclosed illness this past winter and missed much of the club's spring training, collapsed in the booth and was pronounced dead at George Washington University Medical Center at 1:20. He was 73.
The voice of the Phillies since 1971, with his signature "outta here" home run call, Kalas also did voice-over work for NFL Films's Inside the NFL, the long-running HBO series that now airs on Showtime. Kalas was also an announcer for Animal Planet's annual Puppy Bowl franchise.
"The passing of Harry Kalas leaves the Phillies, their fans, our viewers, and sports fans everywhere without a treasured voice and unique personality," said Comcast Sports Group president Jon Litner in a statement. "Harry set the tone for the Phillies' successes, hopes and triumphs for 38 seasons and fittingly he died where he lived so large - in the broadcast booth at the ballpark. The sports broadcasting business has lost a legend and on behalf of our employees, our thoughts go out to his family."
Added Comcast SportsNet senior vice president and general manager Brian Monihan: "Comcast SportsNet and the Philadelphia sports community lost a great man today. Harry Kalas was the voice of the Phillies and many of us grew up listening to his legendary calls. It was a pleasure to have him as part of our SportsNet family. We will miss him dearly. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Kalas family and the Phillies organization,"
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