"I knew his voice better than my father's," said O'Brien, who was 11 when his father died. "He was the dad I never had."
Appropriately for the occasion, O'Brien wore his black Phillies hat.
The stadium was solemn, with soft Mozart flute concertos floating over the public address system. Nearly a hundred fans had waited all night, and when the ballpark opened at 7:15, throngs entered through the third-base gate and were greeted by club president David Montgomery, who shook many hands and thanked fans for coming.
They thanked him for giving them this public farewell.
It was only the third time in history that a baseball team had held a memorial tribute at the ballpark: The first was for Babe Ruth in 1948, the second for St. Louis announcer Jack Buck in 2002.
Benjamin Thomas, 36, came from West Philadelphia, where as a boy he played Wiffle ball in the streets all night, to the endless complaints of noise from neighbors. But he was undeterred because he loved baseball, the Phillies, and Kalas, which was why he was fourth in line yesterday. "He's just a fan, like I am," Thomas said.
Bill Clancy, 49, of Port Richmond, came with his Harry Kalas cloth doll, given away for the Harry Kalas 30th Anniversary Tribute on July 29, 2000. It used to say, "Outta here," but the doll wore out, just like Kalas did.
Ann Knopka, 38, of Quakertown, touched the coffin with her pink Phillies hat. "One last goodbye," she said.
Jim Graham, 71, a former Philadelphia police officer, drove up from Ocean City, N.J., and stopped to have his friend take his photo in front of the casket.
"This guy is Philly," Graham said. "You don't realize what you got. You just get so used to it."
