“It sounds like he passed in the place he would want to,” Phillies slugger Ryan Howard said after Philadelphia beat Washington 9-8. “He was up in the booth.”

Kalas had surgery earlier this year for an undisclosed ailment that the team characterized as minor. He looked somewhat drawn last week as the Phillies opened the season at home.

Kalas is survived by his wife and three sons, including one — Todd — who is a broadcaster for the Tampa Bay Rays. Funeral arrangements were pending.

His family issued a statement saying they were “overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and affection from all of Harry’s fans and friends cross America. Especially the Phillies fans whom he loved as much as the game of baseball itself.”

Back when he first arrived in Philadelphia, Kalas wasn’t immediately embraced by the local fans. But Kalas evolved into an iconic sports figure in Philadelphia, sharing the booth with Hall of Fame player Richie Ashburn until Ashburn’s death in 1997.

“I heard Harry’s voice probably for the first time as a 9-year-old kid. I grew up listening to Harry,” said 46-year-old Jamie Moyer, the winning pitcher for the Phillies on Monday. “He was just a great ambassador for the game.”

Said commissioner Bud Selig: “Baseball announcers have a special bond with their audience, and Harry represented the best of baseball not only to the fans of the Phillies, but to fans everywhere.”

The son of a Methodist minister, Kalas graduated from the University of Iowa in 1959 with a degree in speech, radio and television. The Naperville, Ill., native was drafted into the Army soon after he graduated.

Slideshow   Gone, not forgotten Take a look at notable sports deaths of 2009. more photos

In 1961, he became sports director at Hawaii radio station KGU and also broadcast games for the Hawaii Islanders of the Pacific Coast League and the University of Hawaii. Kalas was a member of the Houston Astros’ broadcast team from 1965-70 before joining the Phillies.

Phillies radio broadcaster Larry Andersen — who worked with Kalas in the booth after being a Philadelphia pitcher whose play was documented by Kalas — had tears streaming down his cheeks as he spoke about his partner before Monday’s game.

“He found the good in everybody, especially the players,” Andersen said. “He loved the players. He loved being around them.”

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