Emotions fill the ballpark
Jarrod Funk is a big, burly guy. But when the Harry Kalas tribute video played on PhanaVision at Citizens Bank Park last night, he couldn't hold back the tears.
For Funk, 34, of Quakertown, seated in Row 21, Section 115, the late broadcaster wasn't just the voice of the Phillies.
STEVEN M. FALK / Staff Photographer
A portrait of Harry Kalas at Citizens Bank Park, which paid tribute to the announcer before the Phils' first home game since his death.
He was the "voice of summer."
His girlfriend, Thera Wennemer, 24, said it hit her when the video showed Kalas with fans.
"It was like he was one of them," she said. "He was a fan."
Emotions filled the ballpark for the Phillies' first home game since Kalas, 73, died suddenly on Monday. Black bunting hung under the TV broadcast booth where he called the games. The booth is now named in his honor.
Kalas' three sons simultaneously threw out the first pitch to Phillies legends Mike Schmidt and John Kruk and to current star Jimmy Rollins. There was a moment of silence, and then Kane Kalas delivered a powerful rendition of the national anthem.
It was a perfect evening for a ball game, with clear skies and temperatures in the 70s.
Some fans sported Kalas memorial T-shirts and caps with "HK" in black letters. At least one man had "HK" painted on his face.
Judy Alessi, 48, of Bellmawr, wore a Kalas shirt she bought a few blocks from the stadium. It read: "That baby's outaaaa here!"
Alessi's father, a 42-year veteran of the Philadelphia Police Department, spent his last 20 years working as a traffic officer at the sports complex.
She recalled that for her parents' 50th wedding anniversary, a nurse working for the Phillies got them a baseball autographed by Kalas.
She didn't get to meet Kalas, but she felt she knew him.
"It's his voice, his friendliness," she said.
Cliff Martin, 50, of Springfield, Delaware County, said the news of Kalas' death was "like a punch in the gut, like one of your favorite family members passing away."
Last night, however, was a time to celebrate Kalas, he said.
He had one gripe.
When Chase Utley hit the first home run of the game, Martin said, he expected to hear a recording of Kalas declaring it "outta here."
"No one in our section heard it," he said.
"Turn it up," he demanded.
Before the game, hundreds of fans paid their respects to Kalas at a makeshift shrine at the statue of Schmidt outside the ballpark.
The base of the shrine was covered with signed caps, T-shirts, and balls. There were stuffed animals as well as beer cans and bottles. A framed portrait of Frank Sinatra had the lyric associated with Kalas, " 'Cause he had high hopes."
One sign read: "April 13, 2009, the Day We Lost Our Voice."
Doris Ebert of Egg Harbor Township, N.J., laid red and white carnations at the statue with her daughter, Denise Weaver.
"I've been listening to this game since I was 7, and now I'm 75," said Ebert, who was wearing a Ryan Howard jersey.
"I just think [Kalas] was an all-around good man," she said. "I don't know how I can get it across my mind that he's gone."
"If it was a good play by the other team, he said it was a good play," said Weaver, 52, of Linwood, N.J.
Carly Braun, 28, of Hammonton, N.J., teared up at the memorial and buried her face in the shoulder of her boyfriend, Kevin Friel, 38.
"I was sick a couple years back, and he helped me get through the bad times," Braun said. "I was bedridden from April to September, and just listening to him helped me.
"I was born in the spring of 1980," she continued, still teary-eyed, "and my parents said listening to Harry's voice that whole summer made me a Phillies fan."
Joseph Chinnici, 65, of Clearwater, Fla., drove to Philadelphia from Richmond, Va., where his wife works, to attend the game.
He said Kalas used to come out and talk to the fans during spring training in Clearwater. Once, Chinnici said, he asked Kalas to say "outta here."
"And he said, 'That ball's outta here!' He wouldn't turn down anything."
When asked what he expected during the game, Chinnici replied: "I expect to do some crying."
Contact staff writer Robert Moran at 215-854-5983 or bmoran@phillynews.com.
