Harry the K: The Remarkable Life of Harry Kalas [Hardcover]

Randy Miller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 9, 2010

To Philadelphia Phillies fans, he was the soundtrack of summer. To millions of football fans across America, he was the “Voice of the NFL.” And as open and giving as Harry Kalas was throughout his professional and personal life, there are countless layers of the man that have remained unknown . . . until now.

Author Randy Miller interviewed more than 160 people—including all of Harry’s surviving family, many of his close friends from childhood to present, numerous colleagues from baseball and the NFL, and even Harry’s longtime personal psychologist—to craft a loving and shockingly honest portrayal of one of the most celebrated broadcasters in the history of sports.

With incredible details from all phases of his life—from his upbringing in the Chicago suburbs, to his Hall of Fame broadcasting career in baseball, to his ubiquitous voiceover work with the NFL, to his personal vices for drinking and women, to his legendary friendship with Richie “Whitey” Ashburn, to his ongoing feud with on-air partner Chris Wheeler—Harry the K: The Remarkable Life of Harry Kalas will surprise, delight, and enlighten all fans of the man they called “Harry the K.”

Editorial Reviews

Review

The Philadelphia Inquirer
“Miller’s dogged reportorial skills are considerable and are on impressive display in a book that is unvarnished and unsparing, but also straightforward and balanced…Miller's book will strike chords of recognition among Phillies followers, many of whom were raised hearing 'Hard to believe, Harry.'” 

Larry Kane, host of Comcast's The Voice of Reason
“This is a book I believe probably is the greatest Philadelphia sports book ever written. As a Philadelphia sports book, there is nothing better than this. This is the real stuff. This is not just who, what, when, where and why, but how and why it happened.” 

Angelo Cataldi, 610-WIP Morning Show Host
"I loved Harry Kalas before I read this book, and I love him more after reading it."

Queens Chronicle
"'Harry the K' is one of the best biographies, period, to hit the market in years."

The Trentonian
“Kalas’ life was recently depicted in a terrific book by Randy Miller, ‘Harry the K.’ I rarely do book endorsements, but it was a great literary monument to the man, myth and legend that he was, and it didn’t pull any punches about his personal life.”

Atlantic City Weekly
“Harry the K’s high hopes and career highlights are all here in a fascinating read for Phillies’ fans."

phillyBurbs.com
“A must for anyone who grew up with Harry.”

About the Author

Randy Miller has covered the Phillies for suburban Philadelphia newspapers Bucks County Courier Times, Doylestown Intelligencer and Burlington County Times since 1996. He has spent countless hours in ballparks, press boxes, and hotel bars with Harry Kalas and others in the Phillies organization. A native of Jeannette, Pa., Miller resides outside Philadelphia in Fairless Hills, Pa.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Running Press (March 9, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0762438967
• ISBN-13: 978-0762438969
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #434,423 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful book about a good and lovable man, March 4, 2010

By 

David Anderson (Media, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Harry the K: The Remarkable Life of Harry Kalas (Hardcover)

Many across the country may not know "Harry the K", but nonetheless, you need to read this book! You may start out not knowing who he was, and it pains me to use that in the past tense, but you likely knew his voice.

This is a story about a solitary, humble man, whose tremendous kindnesses and generosity became legend to the millions who came to know him.

People outside of the broadcasting reach of Philadelphia heard his Campbell Chunky Soup commercials, his Coors Light promotions and many, many others.

He picked up the mantel when John Facenda, the man known as NFL Films' "Voice of God" left us. He did Notre Dame football and basketball. He was the voice of Westwood One's weekly NFL radio broadcast.

But, to those of us in reach of the Philadelphia airwaves, Harry was for thirty-eight years our closest friend and the play-by-play announcer for the Phillies.

At the end, as Mike Jack Schmidt said in his eloquent eulogy, "If you can look past Ben Franklin and William Penn, Harry Kalas might have been the greatest person to ever grace Philadelphia".

I consider myself somewhat a student of history. Schmidt was right!

This is a book that will interest you, captivate you, make you laugh, anger you and make you cry; the latter especially so if you are from Philadelphia or its surrounds. In fact, the final three chapters are absolutely heart-wrenching!

This is not a book about baseball. It's not a book about Philadelphia. It is a very well researched and written book by Randy Miller about a wonderful, wonderful fun loving, good man, who had flaws like the rest of us. But, boy, what virtues! As for now, I'm "outta heeeeere!"

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars William, March 24, 2010

By 

William DiMarco - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Harry the K: The Remarkable Life of Harry Kalas (Hardcover)

I'm from New York, so outside of a couple of games on the "Extra Innings" package hearing Harry Kalas doing baseball, my exposure to him was strictly NFL Films & commercials. I was a little unsure buying this book, but I have to say it was excellent. The chapter on the feud with fellow Phillies broadcaster Chris Wheeler is especially fascinating & probably worth getting just for that. But overall, this is a fine story of a flawed man who achieved greatness & adulation for his work & the person he was. This is probably what a lot of biographies should be, telling of a life with warts and all, but without getting bogged down by it or alternately giving only scant attention to it. I imagine Philadelphia fans would appreciate it even more than I did. One of the best baseball or biographies in general that I've read in a long while.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well Done, March 16, 2010

By 

Adam Barrist - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Harry the K: The Remarkable Life of Harry Kalas (Hardcover)

Randy Miller has put together a brilliant, revealing and pointed portrayal of the life and times of the baritone grand master. He has, in a manner respectful to Harry and his family, told the stories that his other colleagues in the Philadelphia media were too afraid to tell. The reader also learns a lot about the lives of Richie Ashburn and Chris Wheeler, related to and independent of their interactions with Harry. The book is a must for any lifelong Phillies fan.