Name	Richie Ashburn
Position	Center fielder
Imgwidth	200
Bats	Left
Throws	Right
Birth date	March 19, 1927
Birth place	Tilden, Nebraska
Death date	September 09, 1997
Death place	New York, New York
Debutdate	April 20
Debutyear	1948
Debutteam	Philadelphia Phillies
Finaldate	September 30
Finalyear	1962
Finalteam	New York Mets
Stat1label	Batting average
Stat1value	.308
Stat2label	Hits
Stat2value	2,574
Stat3label	Runs batted in
Stat3value	586
Teams	Philadelphia Phillies (–) Chicago Cubs (–) New York Mets ()
Highlights	6× All-Star selection (1948, 1951, 1953, 1958, 1962, 1962²) Philadelphia Phillies #1 retired
Hofdate
Hofmethod	Veteran's Committee }}

Don Richard "Richie" Ashburn (March 19, 1927 – September 9, 1997), also known by the nicknames, "Putt-Putt", "The Tilden Flash", and "Whitey" due to his light-blond hair, was an American center fielder in Major League Baseball. He was born in Tilden, Nebraska (some sources give his full middle name as "Richie"). From his youth on a farm, he grew up to become a professional outfielder and veteran broadcaster for the Philadelphia Phillies and one of the most beloved sports figures in Philadelphia history. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1995.

Playing career

One of the famous "Whiz Kids" of the National League champion 1950 Phillies, Ashburn spent 12 of his 15 major-league seasons as the Phillies' center fielder (from 1948 through 1959). He sported a .308 lifetime batting average, leading the National League twice, and routinely led the league in fielding percentage. In 1950, in the last game of the regular season, he threw Dodgers' runner Cal Abrams out at home plate to preserve a 1–1 tie and set the stage for Dick Sisler's pennant-clinching home run.

The following year, Ashburn displayed his fielding skill on the national stage in the All-Star Game at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. The Associated Press reported, "Richie Ashburn, fleet footed Philadelphia Phillies outfielder, brought the huge Briggs Stadium crowd of 52,075 to its feet with a brilliant leaping catch in the sixth inning to rob Wertz of a near homer. Ashburn caught the ball in front of the right centerfield screen 400 feet distant after a long run." He was also the last Phillies player to collect eight hits in a double-header when he singled eight times in a twinbill at Pittsburgh on May 20, 1951.

Ashburn was a singles hitter rather than a slugger, accumulating over 2,500 hits in 15 years against only 29 home runs. In his day he was regarded as the archetypal "spray hitter," stroking the ball equally well to all fields, thus making him harder to defend against. Ashburn accumulated the most hits (1,875) of any batter during the 1950s.

During an August 17, 1957 game, Ashburn hit a foul ball into the stands that struck spectator Alice Roth, wife of ''Philadelphia Bulletin'' sports editor Earl Roth, breaking her nose. When play resumed, Ashburn fouled off another ball that struck Roth while she was being carried off in a stretcher. Ashburn and Roth would maintain a friendship for many years and her son later served as a Phillies batboy.

After the 1959 season, Ashburn was traded to the Chicago Cubs for three players and went on to anchor center field for the North Siders in 1960 and 1961. Anticipating a future career behind a microphone, Ashburn sometimes conducted a post-game baseball instruction clinic at Wrigley Field for the benefit of the youngsters in the WGN-TV viewing audience.

Ashburn was drafted by the expansion New York Mets for the 1962 season. He had a good year offensively, batting .306, and was the team's first-ever All-Star Game representative. However, it was a frustrating year for the polished professional, who had begun his career with a winner and found himself playing for the losingest team in modern baseball history (with a record of 40-120). He retired at the end of the season.

One oft-told story is that on short flies to center or left-center, center fielder Ashburn would collide with shortstop Elio Chacón. Chacón, from Venezuela, spoke little English and had difficulty understanding when Ashburn was calling him off the ball. To remedy matters, someone in the Mets organization taught Ashburn to say "Yo la tengo," Spanish for "I’ve got it." When Ashburn first used this phrase, it worked fine, keeping Chacón from running into him. But then left fielder Frank Thomas, who didn't speak a word of Spanish, slammed into Ashburn. After getting up, Thomas asked Ashburn "What the heck is a Yellow Tango?"

In his last five seasons, Ashburn played for the 8th-place Phillies, the 7th-place Cubs, and the 10th place Mets. The infamous first-year Mets club won only a quarter of its games, and Ashburn decided to retire from active play. The last straw might have been during the Mets' 120th loss, when Ashburn was one of the three Mets victims in a triple play pulled off by his former teammates, the 9th-place Cubs.

Post-career

Starting in 1963, Ashburn became a radio and TV color commentator for his original big-league team, the Phillies. He first worked with long-time Phillies announcers Bill Campbell and Byrum Saam. In 1971, Campbell was let go by the Phillies and Harry Kalas joined the team. Ashburn worked with these two future winners of the Ford C. Frick Award for the next few years. Saam retired in 1976, and Ashburn continued working with Kalas for the next two decades, the two becoming best friends. Kalas often referred to Ashburn as "His Whiteness", a nickname Kalas would use for the rest of his life for the man he so openly adored. Ashburn also regularly wrote for ''The Philadelphia Bulletin'' and, later, ''The Philadelphia Daily News''.

According to his mother, Ashburn planned on retiring from broadcasting at the end of the 1997 season. He died of a heart attack in New York City after broadcasting a Phillies-Mets game at Shea Stadium. A large crowd of fans paid tribute to him, passing by his coffin in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. He is interred in the Gladwyne Methodist Church Cemetery, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.

Awards and honors

Ashburn was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Hall's Veterans Committee in 1995 after a long fan campaign to induct him which included bumper stickers that read, "Richie Ashburn: Why The Hall Not?" He accompanied Phillies great Mike Schmidt, who was inducted in the same ceremony. Over 25,000 fans, mostly from Philadelphia, traveled to Cooperstown for the ceremony.

Ashburn was posthumously inducted into the inaugural class of the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.

The center-field entertainment area at the Phillies current stadium, Citizens Bank Park, is named Ashburn Alley in his honor in response to the demand of numerous fans requesting that the Phillies name the stadium in Ashburn's honor, due to Ashburn's 47 seasons of service to the Phillies organization, which was second in length in Philadelphia baseball history only to [[Connie Mack (baseball)| Connie Mack]], who was so honored with the renaming of Shibe Park in 1953.

At Citizens Bank Park, the Phillies' radio-broadcast booth is named "The Richie 'Whitey' Ashburn Broadcast Booth". It is directly next to the TV-broadcast booth, which was renamed "The Harry Kalas Broadcast Booth" after Kalas's death in 2009.

Miscellaneous

Ashburn was well-known for his dry humor as a broadcaster. On one occasion, he was talking to Harry Kalas about his superstitions during his playing days, and said that he once had a habit of keeping a successful baseball bat in bed with him between games, not trusting the clubhouse crew to give him the same bat the next day. Ashburn told Kalas that he had "slept with a lot of old bats" in his day.

When calling late innings, Ashburn would occasionally ask on-air if the staff of Celebre's Pizza, a nearby pizzeria in South Philly, was listening to the radio. Pizza would then arrive at the radio booth 15–20 minutes later. The Phillies requested that Ashburn discontinue the practice, as Celebre's was not a Phillies sponsor, and it was considered free advertising.

Ashburn was allowed to make on-air birthday and anniversary wishes during Phillies games. To circumvent the Phillies' request, he started to say, "I'd like to send out a special birthday wish to the Celebre's twins - Plain & Pepperoni!" Harry Kalas was heard on radio in 2007 making a similar wish.

Ruben Amaro, Jr., current general manager of the Phillies and son and namesake of Rubén Amaro, Sr., Phillies shortstop from the sixties and coach, co-founded the Richie Ashburn Foundation, which provides free baseball camp for 1,100 underprivileged children in the Delaware Valley and awards grants to area schools and colleges.

Ted Williams gave Ashburn the nickname "Putt-Putt" because he ran so fast you would think he had twin motors in his pants. The origin of the nickname has also been attributed to Stan Musial.

The book "Richie Ashburn: Why The Hall Not?" is about Richie's journey to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

See also

List of major league players with 2,000 hits

List of Major League Baseball players with 100 triples

List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs

List of Major League Baseball leaders in career stolen bases

List of Major League Baseball batting champions

List of Major League Baseball stolen base champions

List of Major League Baseball triples champions

List of Philadelphia Phillies team records

MLB consecutive games played streaks

References

External links

The Deadball Era

Richie Ashburn Baseball Foundation

"Richie Ashburn: Why The Hall Not" book site

Category:1927 births Category:1997 deaths Category:Baseball players from Nebraska Category:Chicago Cubs players Category:Deaths from myocardial infarction Category:Major League Baseball announcers Category:Major League Baseball center fielders Category:Major League Baseball players with retired numbers Category:National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Category:National League All-Stars Category:National League batting champions Category:National League stolen base champions Category:New York Mets players Category:Philadelphia Phillies broadcasters Category:Philadelphia Phillies players Category:Sportspeople from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Category:Utica Blue Sox players

de:Richie Ashburn ja:リッチー・アシュバーン

name	Harry Kalas
bgcolor	#B71234
birth name	Harry Norbert Kalas
birth date	March 26, 1936
birth place	Naperville, Illinois
death date	April 13, 2009
death place	Washington, D.C.
signature	Harry Kalas autograph.jpg
team	Philadelphia Phillies,NFL Films,Westwood One NFL Sunday Afternoon Doubleheaders
team homepage	Harry Kalas Tribute (bio), at Phillies.com
genre	Play-by-play,Sports commentator
sport	Baseball, Football
years active	1962–2009 }}

Harry 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 Major League Baseball's Philadelphia Phillies. Kalas was also closely identified with the National Football League, serving as a voice-over narrator for NFL Films productions (a regular feature on ''Inside the NFL'') and calling football games nationally for Westwood One radio.

Early life and family

Born in Naperville, Illinois, Kalas graduated from Naperville High School in 1954 and from the University of Iowa in 1959. Upon graduation, he was immediately drafted into the United States Army and stationed in Hawaii. After his discharge in 1961, Kalas began calling minor-league baseball games for the Hawaii Islanders.

Kalas had three sons Todd, Brad, and Kane. Todd Kalas was a Phillies broadcaster, worked as a pregame/postgame–show host, and is currently an in-game analyst for the Tampa Bay Rays.

During the offseason between the 2008 and 2009 baseball season, Kalas underwent surgery. The nature of the surgery was never disclosed and was considered "minor", but had missed much of 2009 Spring Training.

Professional career

Kalas made his major-league debut in 1965 with the Houston Astros, replacing Al Helfer and working alongside Gene Elston and Loel Passe. He called the first game at Houston's Astrodome, on April 12, 1965.

He was hired by the Phillies in 1971 to succeed Bill Campbell, and was the master of ceremonies at the 1971 opening of Veterans Stadium. After the retirement of By Saam, Kalas was paired with Andy Musser and Hall of Fame player Richie Ashburn.

Philadelphia Phillies

While initially meeting with a lukewarm reception due to his replacement of the popular Campbell, Kalas soon won the hearts of Phillies fans with his easy-going style, his mellow, baritone, leathery voice (which rose to great excitement upon great plays on the field or Phillies' home runs, especially in key situations), his love of the game and also his accessibility to Phillies fans, for whom he professed a strong love.

During his Phillies career, he called six no-hit games, six National League Championship Series, and three World Series (1983, 1993, and 2008). However, due to MLB rules at the time, he could not call the 1980 World Series, as local broadcasters were not allowed to call games due to contract conflicts with MLB, NBC and CBS Radio. Public outcry caused MLB to change its policies the following year.

Kalas also called the first game at Veterans Stadium (April 10, 1971), the last game at Veterans Stadium (September 28, 2003), and the first game at Citizens Bank Park (April 12, 2004). Unknown at the time, the ceremony would be part of Kalas's last home game.

On May 15, 2009, during a series in Washington, the Phillies visited the White House and were congratulated by President Barack Obama for their 2008 World Series championship. The visit had been postponed from April 14, due to Kalas's death the preceding day. The President mentioned Kalas, his voice, his love for the Phillies, and his legacy. This was the second of two tributes to Kalas in Washington. On April 21, eight days after Kalas's death, Pennsylvania Representative Joe Sestak paid tribute to Kalas in the House of Representatives, coming from Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district, where Kalas resided.

Richie Ashburn

Kalas and Ashburn became beloved figures in Philadelphia, and also became best friends. They worked together for 27 seasons until Ashburn's death on September 9, 1997 of a heart attack in his sleep in a New York City hotel room after broadcasting a Phillies/Mets game at Shea Stadium. It is believed by many that Kalas never got over the death of his partner and friend, openly stating more than 11 years afterward that he still grieved over Ashburn's death.

Memorable calls

Kalas' familiar home run call was ''"Swing ... and a long drive, this ball is ... outta here! Home run ."'' If it was a gigantic home run, he sometimes inserted "deep (section of outfield)" after "and a long drive" and described it as "that ball's way outta here!"

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. While standing around the batting cage during batting practice, he saw Philllies slugger Greg Luzinski hit a ball into the upper deck, to which Philly shortstop Larry Bowa reacted with the words, "Wow! That's way outta here." Kalas said that it had a nice "unique ring to it and has been using it ever since".

Other broadcasters have used Kalas' "outta here" call, including Gary Cohen of the New York Mets, Jerry Coleman of the San Diego Padres, and Terry Smith of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

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

In 1980, after the Phillies won the World Series, Kalas and the rest of the Phillies' radio crew re-created the call that Kalas probably would have made when Tug McGraw struck out Willie Wilson to win Game 6 and the World Series between the Phillies and the Kansas City Royals.

This call was not made live by Kalas, as MLB radio-broadcasting regulations at the time forbade local stations from producing live coverage of World Series games, instead forcing them to air the national CBS Radio feed of the games. 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. Nevertheless, Kalas was part of the Phillies' World Series celebration in 1980, and rode in the parade down Broad Street.

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:

Another of Kalas' famous calls came less than two weeks later with Joe Carter's famous walk-off home run to end the World Series, though the Phillies lost the series:

On June 14, 2004, Kalas called the 400th home run hit by Jim Thome, using the call he used in later years when it was uncertain whether the ball would clear the fence:

On August 9, 2006, Kalas called a close play at the plate as Chase Utley scored from second base against the Atlanta Braves:

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:

Kalas' call on the Phillies' victory in Game 5 of the 2008 NLCS:

On October 29, 2008, Kalas was finally able to call a Phillies' championship-winning moment in the World Series when Brad Lidge struck out Eric Hinske to win the 104th Fall Classic 1:

Kalas made his final call on April 12, 2009, during the Phillies game against the Colorado Rockies:

NFL Films

Kalas joined NFL Films as a narrator in 1975. He became its primary voice, following the passing of John Facenda in 1984. He provided the narration to the highlights on ''Inside the NFL'' from its inception in 1977 through the 2008 season. Following Kalas' death, fellow Philadelphia Phillies announcer Scott Graham took over his ''Inside the NFL'' duties.

Other ventures

In addition to his work with the Phillies and NFL Films, Kalas called various sports over the years for the Mutual Broadcasting System, CBS Radio, and Westwood One Radio (including the NFL, MLB, college basketball, and Notre Dame football). For many years, he narrated the "Alcoa Fantastic Finishes" in-game highlights spots, for use during NFL telecasts. His voice was used for narration of the PBS 39 documentary on the Lehigh-Lafayette Rivalry Football Game, produced in 2004. Kalas also lent his voice to NFL Network's game telecasts, reading sponsor plugs during commercial breaks. He was replaced by Pat Summerall after his death.

Kalas also lent his voice to the commercials for the movie ''Leatherheads'', as well as commercials for the Campbell Soup Company (including Campbell's Chunky Soup), GMC Truck, Sega Genesis Sports Games, Coors Light, and others.

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.

He also narrated/commentated Animal Planet's Puppy Bowls I-V from 2005–2009. Puppy Bowl VI was dedicated in his memory.

He also made an appearance on the song "Rain Delay" by the Philadelphia-based rock group Marah.

Miscellany

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. His most famous singing of "High Hopes" came in 1993 when he sang to the team after they clinched the NL East division title. On April 17, 2009, at the first home game after Kalas' death, fans sang along with a video of Harry singing "High Hopes" during the seventh-inning stretch, instead of the traditional "Take Me Out to the Ball Game".

Kalas had sung "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" on several occasions during the seventh-inning stretch at Wrigley Field in Chicago on several occasions in tribute to Harry Caray, the late voice of the Chicago Cubs, who had led fans in that song at most home games. However, by that time, Kalas, a native of the Chicago area, had become an openly-avid Phillies fan, and held the microphone out to the audience to hear them sing "the Cubbies" as they replaced their team's name for "the home team" in the song's lyrics.

Kalas, due to his stay in Hawaii, was very proficient at pronouncing Polynesian names. He also liked to slowly enunciate certain players' names, especially those with ethnic names. His personal favorite, Mickey Morandini, was pronounced as "Mi-ckey Mor-an-DI-ni".

Kalas attributed his leathery voice to his habit of smoking Parliament cigarettes, and some of the Phillies players lit up Parliaments after Kalas' death as a tribute.

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 [today]," 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 45º 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:

HARRY KALAS

1936-2009

LOVING HUSBAND

LOVING FATHER

FRIEND TO ALL

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.

Honors

Nicknamed "Harry the K" by Phillies pitcher Larry Christenson in the mid '70s, a nickname quickly adopted by Phillies fans, Kalas received the Ford C. Frick Award from the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002. In 2004, he was named Person of the Year by the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia. That year, he was also inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame, as a member of the charter class (21 members). He was named Pennsylvania Sportscaster of the Year 18 times.

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

Following Kalas' death, the Phillies began playing a video of Kalas singing the first verse of "High Hopes" at Citizens Bank Park after every Phillies win, as well as Kalas's famous "Outta Here!" call was played at Citizens Bank Park after every Phillies home run.

In June 2009, the National Radio Hall of Fame announced that Kalas would be posthumously inducted into its Hall of Fame. Thirteen other sportscasters were previously inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Phillies fan Antonio Jose initiated an online petition seeking support for a statue of Kalas to be erected outside the Phillies' ballpark. As of May 2010, there were 24,000 signatories. Sculptor Lawrence Nowlan has begun work on a model for the statue. In September 2010, a story that aired on the "10 Show" on WCAU-TV stated that the full-size clay model for the statue was nearly complete, and was ready to have a mold of it cast so the actual bronze statue can be cast.

On Tuesday, August 16, 2011, the Nowlan sculpture 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. This unveiling was postponed from the previous Sunday, when the statue was scheduled to be unveiled prior to the game versus the Washington Nationals, which had been rained out.

In 2009, Kalas was that year's inductee into the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame.

The 2010 Mummers Parade on New Year's Day featured the Happy Tappers Comics dressed as Phillies players with the "HK" patch on the Phillies jerseys to pay tribute to Kalas and their theme was "Harry K's Field of Dreams."

See also

List of Philadelphia Phillies broadcasters

List of sports announcers

Broadcasting of sports events

Philadelphia Phillies award winners and league leaders

Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame

References

External links

HarryKalas.com

Baseball Hall of Fame: Frick Award Recipient

Baseball Prospectus: Obituary

History: Tributes: Harry Kalas / 1936-2009. MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media, L.P.

NFL Network: Tribute to Harry Kalas - The Voice

Philly.com: "Remembering Harry" Section

WHYY: Hometown Legends: Harry Kalas (1936-2009)

Category:1936 births Category:2009 deaths Category:American radio sports announcers Category:American television sports announcers Category:American people of Greek descent Category:College basketball announcers in the United States Category:College football announcers Category:Deaths from myocardial infarction Category:Houston Astros broadcasters Category:Major League Baseball announcers Category:National Football League announcers Category:National Radio Hall of Fame inductees Category:NFL Films Category:Notre Dame Fighting Irish football broadcasters Category:People from Delaware County, Pennsylvania Category:People from Naperville, Illinois Category:Philadelphia Phillies broadcasters Category:Radio personalities from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Category:United States Army soldiers Category:University of Iowa alumni

ja:ハリー・カラス fi:Harry Kalas

thumb|right|200px|Bruce Mowday 2009Bruce E. Mowday is an author and Republican political activist who lives in Chester County, Pennsylvania. He specializes in books about local history.

Books

Mr. Mowday's most recent book is ''Jailing the Johnston Gang: Bringing Serial Murderers to Justice'', released by Barricade Books in March 2009. It is now in its third printing. The book tells how a dedicated law enforcement team brought to justice serial murders Norman, David and Bruce Johnston (criminal), who for more than a decade terrorized communities throughout the East Coast of the United States. The book has received a great deal of media attention in local publications and has been a best-seller in Chester County, where the gang was based.

His other books are:

''Unlikely Allies: Fort Delaware's Prison Community in the Civil War'' (Stackpole Books)

''September 11, 1777: Washington's Defeat at Brandywine Dooms Philadelphia'' (White Mane Publishers)

''Selling of an Author'' (White Mane Publishers)

''West Chester: Six Walking Tours''

"Spanning the Centuries" (a history of Caln Township, Chester County, written with his daughter Melissa Mowday)

He has also compiled six books of historical postcards and photographs, published by Arcadia Publishing:

''Along the Brandywine River''

''Chester County Mushroom Farming''

''West Chester''

''Downingtown''

''Coatesville''

"Parkesburg"

He is in the process of researching his next project, which is about the battle of Gettysburg.

Professional life

Mr. Mowday began working as sportswriter at his hometown newspaper, the ''Coatesville Record'', while still in high school. He continued his journalism career at The Daily Local News in West Chester, Pennsylvania, working as a courthouse reporter and rising to become managing editor. While at the ''Daily Local'' he covered the trials that form the basis of his ''Jailing the Johnston Gang'' book. Mr. Mowday left journalism in 1997 to start the Mowday Group, a media relations and consulting company. His clients include local political groups and candidates, businesses, nonprofits, and artists. He also is a speaker on historical topics and actively markets his books.

Personal life

Mr. Mowday lives in Uwchlan Township, Chester County, with his wife, Katherine. He has two grown daughters. He serves as chairman of the Chester County Conference & Visitors Bureau.

External links

The Mowday Group: http://www.mowday.com

Articles about the Johnston book:

*http://www.dailylocal.com/articles/2009/03/16/news/srv0000004893591.txt

*http://www3.allaroundphilly.com/blogs/pottstown/balancingthebooks/labels/Bruce%20Mowday.html

*http://www3.allaroundphilly.com/blogs/pottstown/nancym/2009/03/true-crime-novel-brings-back-memories.html

*http://www.pa8newsgroup.com/WebApp/appmanager/JRC/Weekly;jsessionid=x9d8JYfRG1pzyH47xsGqbyb1g21YvMhdlJ2yMj1XSjB8SL0zWc2X!710648032?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pg_wk_article&r21.pgpath;=%2FPA8%2FNews%2FThe+Kennett+Paper&r21.content;=%2FPA8%2FNews%2FThe+Kennett+Paper%2FHeadlineList_Story_2680854

Arcadia Publishing: http://arcadiapublishing.com

Stackpole Books: http://www.stackpolebooks.com/cgi-bin/stackpolebooks.storefront

Brandywine Battlefield Historic Site: http://www.ushistory.org/Brandywine/

Brandywine Battlefield Associates: http://brandywinebattlefield.org/

Eye on the Media, blog for the Chester County Republican Party: http://republicanccc.com/docs/pages/Eye_On_The_Media_The_Whole_Story.aspx

Category:American writers Category:Living people

Name	Jim Donahue
Position	Catcher
Bats	Right
Throws	Right
Birth date	January 08, 1862
Birth place	Lockport, Illinois
Death date	April 19, 1935
Death place	Lockport, Illinois
Debutdate	April 19
Debutyear
Debutteam	New York Metropolitans
Finaldate	October 2
Finalyear
Finalteam	Columbus Solons
Stat1label	Batting average
Stat1value	.234
Stat2label	Home runs
Stat2value	2
Stat3label	Runs batted in
Stat3value	133
Teams	New York Metropolitans (–) Kansas City Cowboys (–) Columbus Solons () }}

James Augustus "Jim" Donahue (January 8, 1862 – April 19, 1935) was an American Major League Baseball player from Lockport, Illinois who played his entire career in the American Association from through .

Career

Jim made his Major League debut with the New York Metropolitans of the American Association in splitting time between the outfield and catcher, where he platooned with Charlie Reipschlager. He played in 49 games, and had a batting average of .199. He returned the following season, again platooning at catcher, this time with Bill Holbert, and had a .282 batting average, which proved to be his best season at the plate. Following the season Donahue was sold to the Brooklyn Bridegrooms along with several other player on October 20, 1887, who then turned around and sold him on January 15, to the Kansas City Cowboys along with several others.

With Kansas City in 1888, he had his most playing time, as he was considered the starting catcher. He played in 88 games, hit .234, and had a career high 11 doubles. That season, he was also used as a substitute umpire on two different occasions, but for the game on July 14, it became dubiously notable. Bridegroom pitcher Adonis Terry claimed that he overheard Cowboy manager Sam Barkley order Donahue to call a Bridegroom runner out in the 9th inning of a 5-4 game. The Grooms walked off the field in protest‚ forfeiting the game‚ resulting in a 9-0 score. In , he returned to platooning, as the Cowboys promoted Charlie Hoover to starter. Jim caught 46 games that season and split the remainder of his games between the left field and third base, while hitting .234, and 32 runs batted in.

After the 1889 season, the Cowboys folded and Jim did not play in the majors for the season, but returned for the Columbus Solons, and played in 77 games, hit .218, and drove in 35 runs. This was Jim final major league season.

Post-career

Jim returned to his hometown of Lockport, and it was there that he died at the age of 73, and was interred at the South Lockport Cemetery.

References

External links

Category:1862 births Category:1935 deaths Category:19th-century baseball players Category:Baseball players from Illinois Category:Major League Baseball catchers Category:New York Metropolitans players Category:Kansas City Cowboys players Category:Columbus Solons players Category:People from Lockport, Illinois

Birth date	March 18, 1954
Birth place	Waco, Texas
Position	Defensive back
College	North Texas
Draftedyear	1976
Draftedround	9
Draftedpick	264
Databasefootball	REECEBEA01
Pfr	ReecBe20
Nfl	REE040516
Years	1976 1977-1983 1983-1984
Teams	Dallas Cowboys New York Giants Tampa Bay Buccaneers}}

Beasley Young Reece, Jr. (born March 18, 1954 in Waco, Texas) was an American football defensive back with a nine year NFL career from 1976 to 1984. He played for the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, after attending college at North Texas State University.

After his retirement from playing Reece worked as a color commentator for NFL coverage on NBC and CBS, and served as an analyst for the 1992 Summer Olympics for NBC. During this time, he was the sports director for WVIT (NBC-30) in Hartford, Connecticut. He would also work in at WTOG Tampa Bay. When he came to CBS, he joined KYW-TV in Philadelphia, and became their Sports Director, a position he has had since July 1998. Reece is an Eagle Scout and recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award.

Beasley also attended La Vega High School in Waco, Texas and is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.

See also

List of NFL on NBC commentator pairings

Beasley Reece had an unorthodox workout style. He could be found on several occasions sprinting at the race track verses race horses. He also got most of his muscle from pushups. He would do hundreds of pushups during his workout and did not lift weights to maintain his exceptional professional athlete physique. ==References== Information was obtained in a 1983 visit to RCC Sports Academy, Suffern, NY.

Category:1954 births Category:Living people Category:People from Waco, Texas Category:African American players of American football Category:American football cornerbacks Category:American television sports announcers Category:Dallas Cowboys players Category:KYW-TV Category:National Football League announcers Category:New York Giants players Category:North Texas Mean Green football players Category:Philadelphia, Pennsylvania television anchors Category:Philadelphia television reporters Category:Tampa Bay Buccaneers broadcasters Category:Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Category:Distinguished Eagle Scouts Category:Notre Dame Fighting Irish football broadcasters