Harold Norbert Kalas (March 26, 1936 – April 13, 2009) was an American sportscaster, best known for his Ford C. Frick Award-winning role as lead play-by-play announcer for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB), a position he held from 1971 until his death in 2009.

[1] In 1965, Kalas made his Major League Baseball broadcasting debut with the Houston Astros, replacing Al Helfer and working alongside Gene Elston and Loel Passe.

They worked together for 27 seasons until Ashburn's death on September 9, 1997, of a heart attack in his sleep in a room at the Grand Hyatt New York after broadcasting a Phillies/Mets game at Shea Stadium.

As a guest on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball on July 15, 2007, Kalas recounted that his famous "outta here" call originated in the mid-1970s.

Kalas made, arguably, his most memorable call on April 18, 1987, when Mike Schmidt hit his 500th career home run.

Philadelphia fans were so outraged about this afterward that they started a letter-writing campaign to the Commissioner's Office, demanding a change to the rule.

Due at least in part to this outcry from Philadelphia fans, MLB amended its broadcasting contracts the following year to allow World Series teams' flagship radio stations to air the games with local announcers.

[13] Nevertheless, Kalas was part of the Phillies' World Series celebration in 1980, and rode in the team's victory parade down Broad Street.

Can you believe it?Another memorable call by Kalas was his description of Mitch Williams's strikeout of Bill Pecota for the final out of Game 6 of the 1993 National League Championship Series between the Phillies and Atlanta Braves: Swing and a miss!

Three-run home run, Joe Carter, and the Toronto Blue Jays are the world champions of baseball for the second straight year.

Number 400 for Jim Thome!On September 8, 2005, Kalas calls an eventual game-winning 3-run home run by Craig Biggio in top of the 9th off Billy Wagner.

Here is Kalas's call of Brett Myers' strikeout of Washington's Wily Mo Pena to clinch the 2007 National League East division title for the Phillies on the last day of the season, completing a comeback as they erased a seven-game deficit behind the New York Mets in early September: Myers ... has the sign from Chris Coste ... curveball, struck him out!

Swing, and a pop-up, this game is gonna be over ... Carlos Ruiz squeezes it, and the Phillies are the National League champions!

What a night!Kalas made his final call on April 12, 2009, during the Phillies game against the Colorado Rockies: Bouncing ball to Chase Utley, this should be the game, Chase throws him out and that will be it as the Phils win 2 out of 3 here at Coors Field, coming back to take this one by a score of 7 to 5.Kalas was known for his love of the Frank Sinatra song, "High Hopes", a melody he sang at numerous events, including the Phillies' championship celebrations in his later years.

Kalas also lent his voice to NFL Network's game telecasts, reading sponsor plugs during commercial breaks.

Along with Joe Kapp, Kalas called the 1982 Liberty Bowl...the last game of Paul "Bear" Bryant's career and his 323rd victory.

Kalas provided the recorded voice-over for much of the self-guided tours at the United States Mint in Philadelphia and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis.

Before the game began, Kalas's death was announced to the crowd, his picture was displayed on the scoreboard, and the stadium observed a minute of silence.

[24] Phillies fans created a makeshift memorial at the Mike Schmidt statue outside 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,[25] but those illnesses did not seem to affect his announcing abilities; he called the Phillies' Rockies game in Denver on April 12, the day before his death.

[27] 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.

Kalas's casket was displayed behind home plate and fans were encouraged to pay their respects at Citizens Bank Park.

Friends, broadcast partners, and every player on the Phillies team roster paid their respects before it was placed in a hearse, which carried him out of Citizens Bank Park one final time.

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's 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.

At Citizens Bank Park, the restaurant built into the base of the main scoreboard is named "Harry the K's" in Kalas's honor.

The Phillies honored Kalas for the remainder of the 2009 season with a round, black "HK" patch over the heart on all player, coach, and manager jerseys.

Additionally, a billboard featuring a microphone, his initials and lifespan ("HK 1936–2009") was displayed on the wall in left-center field during the 2009 season.

[9][14] The Phillies players, led by Shane Victorino, hung Kalas' signature baby-blue blazer and white loafers in the dugout for every game.

[32] On Tuesday, August 16, 2011, the Nowlan sculpture, a 7-foot-tall (210 cm) bronze statue (which depicts Kalas standing cross-legged on a home plate, holding a microphone in his right hand, which also holds a baseball bat that he was leaning upon) was unveiled in the Ashburn Alley outfield concourse at Citizens Bank Park between Harry the K's Restaurant and the statue of Richie Ashburn prior to that evening's game versus the Arizona Diamondbacks.