Strange, even from where I sit in Montreal I knew of Harry Kalas and Mark Fidrych. As a sports fan, it was sad to hear of their passing. To get an idea of what each meant to their respective teams, follow the links.

Kalas was the voice of Philadelphia Phillies baseball since 1971 and Mark Fidrych was an eccentric pitcher (1976-1980) for the Detroit Tigers.

Kalas is the only broadcaster to call both of Philadelphia’s World Series titles (including a finals appearance in 1993) in 1980 and 2008.

Fidrych’s persona was so fresh and wild (among other things he would talk to the ball on the mound) at the time he made it to the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. And he could pitch too. He won rookie of the year in 1976 and finished runner up to Jim Palmer for the Cy Young the same year. He compiled a 29-19 record and 3.10 era during his career.

Kalas was 73. Fidrych was 54.

And so ISW honors two sports icons who meant so much to two sports cities with a long and rich history.