RIP: Gary Papa

There’s been a fair share of loss in the Philadelphia sports broadcasting world. First Harry Kalas passed away in April, now long time WPVI sports director Gary Papa has passed away after a long and public battle with prostate cancer.

I think everyone will remember Papa for how he dealt with his illness; shaving his head, going to chemo, and going back to work. So many people would have hidden, he didn’t. For 5 years Papa battled cancer, going between a shaved head and full head of hair a few times. When I saw him with his shaved head last fall, I knew it wasn’t good.

The other thing I’ll remember Papa for is his mimicking of Kalas’ “Outta here” home run call. Sometimes it annoyed me, but it became part of his schtick. Gary had fun delivering the sports news and it showed. It’s a bit ironic that we lose both of these voices in the same year.

Papa is survived by his wife, Kathleen, and his two sons Nathaniel and Tucker.