After 9/11, Philadelphia had the quiet poignancy of Phillies announcer Harry Kalas

“It was a real emotional night, and Harry was a wonderful shepherd through moments like that,” former Phillies broadcaster Scott Graham said in a biography about Kalas.

Hall of Fame Phillies broadcaster Harry Kalas offers a few poignant words on Sept. 17, 2011, when MLB resumed its baseball schedule six days after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.Read morertornoe@inquirer.com

by Rob Tornoe

Published Sept. 11, 2019, 9:11 a.m. ET

Hall of Fame Phillies broadcaster Harry Kalas died in 2009, but the words he spoke on a September night in the wake of the deadly Sept. 11 attacks still ring true today.

Major League Baseball suspended all games following the Sept. 11 attacks, the deadliest terrorist attack in history, which claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 people. Six days later, on Sept. 17, MLB resumed its schedule, with the Phillies playing at Veterans Stadium against the Atlanta Braves.

Fans tuning into the game on television were greeted by an American flag quietly flying at half staff with no sound playing in the background. The telecast quickly turned to Kalas, then in his 30th season calling Phillies games, who choked up as he spoke the poignant words that helped the city cope with the aftermath of the tragedy.

“Here at Veterans Stadium, we see various displays of nationalism and patriotism. And let us always remember, that above all else, love one another, love thy brother,” Kalas said.

“It was a real emotional night, and Harry was a wonderful shepherd through moments like that,” former Phillies broadcaster Scott Graham told reporter Randy Miller for his biography of Kalas, Harry the K. “That’s a big part of his brilliance."

Here are Kalas’ timeless words:

From the cradle of liberty – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Do we have closure? No. No, the heinous acts of terrorism last Tuesday will be with us for as long as we all shall live.

We have earned a greater respect and love for the men and women of our fire departments, our police departments, our emergency rescue squads – they’re all Americans, we are proud to be Americans. We must never resort to the thinking that created Tuesday’s acts of terrorism. - they were born of hatred. We as individuals, we as a nation must never hate. More than ever before, we must stand together and live by His words – love one another.

Here at Veterans Stadium, we see various displays of nationalism and patriotism. And let us always remember, that above all else, love one another, love thy brother.

Yes, baseball will go on. It won’t be the same – it will be a long time before it is the same. But sports has always been a diversion from our everyday problems, and in this case, from a national tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers and our hearts go out to the families and to the friends of the victims of the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001.

The Color Guard is now coming out on the field. We see waves of people here at Veterans Stadium, standing united, regardless of race, color or religion. They’re all together as members of the United States of America.

We’re proud to be Americans – baseball is our national pastime. We’re proud to be small pieces of our national pastime, and we want to see it continue.

You can hear in the background, chants of ‘U-S-A.' Yes, Americans will now perhaps become more united than ever before, and probably now we won’t need it more than any time that I can ever recall.