Henry Kalas
Class of 1954Alumni Recognition Award, 1996
One of America's most respected baseball and sports announcers in all of journalism, Harry Kalas strived for a dream from boyhood. In the days before ESPN and other current mediums Harry longed to be a Major League Baseball Announcer. He went to the University of Iowa, spent two years in the Army, the broke into sports broadcasting announcing for the Hawaii Islanders of the Pacific Coast League. Following his time in the islands, Mr. Kalas announced for the Houston Astros (six years), then on to the Philadelphia Phillies, his "home" since 1971. Harry Kalas has been "the voice" for the University of Houston football, Southwest Conference basketball, Big Five Basketball, and is the narrator for several nationally-syndicated programs. Among the many awards garnered by this NCHS alumnus is the Pennsylvania Sportscaster of the Year which he received from the National Association of Sportcasters and Sportswriters fifteen times!
