Dear Diary: Harry Kalas’ Favorite Bar

I’ve heard from a buddy that Harry Kalas’ favorite bar in the country was Lefty O’Doul’s in San Francisco.  Then, I read that the Giants broadcast team went to Lefty O’Doul’s to have a drinks as a tribute to Harry when they heard he had passed. I had to have a beer at Harry’s favorite bar so visiting Lefty O’Doul’s became a priority for my time in San Fran.

The man, Lefty O’Doul, played the pros between the years 1919 and 1934.  He had a .349 career batting average.  He played for the Phillies during the 1929 and 1930 seasons.  He had his best year in 1929 hitting .398 for the season.  The bar doesn’t hesitate to hand out a Lefty O’Doul baseball card with his stats on the back.

The place looks like it hasn’t been remodeled since Lefty passed in 1969.  It’s a piano bar with a buffet.  I hear the breakfast buffet, opens at 7 a.m. is popular on the weekends.

The barstools are have baseball bats as legs and walls are lined with pictures of Lefty.

I met Frankie who was our bartender for the night.  I told him about being from Philly.  As soon as I mentioned Harry Kalas’ name his face lit up with a “Harrrrrry, what a great guy. I was his bartender.”  Frankie is an east coast guy-New York.  He told me stories about running around on Temple’s campus thirty or so years ago looking for pool halls.

Over the course of a couple beers and a shot, Frankie mentioned Harry a few times.  He said Harry was always dressed impeccably. He remembered Harry singing a lot of Frank Sinatra with the piano bar.  A band filled the piano area the night we were there.

The place is bright.  It’s kitschy.  The beer selection is decent.  I was able to grab a Bitburger Pils and the prices are reasonable. The place is like a comfort bar, like a good stew on a damp, rainy day.  I can understand while this was Harry’s place.

Just after taking the picture below, Frankie said one last thing about Harry.  “He was the nicest guy to everyone.”

If you get the chance to visit Lefty O’Doul’s, do it! Try to bump into Frankie.  He loves talking about Harry and the East Coast.

For more articles and nonesense follow: @ViolationsGreg on Twitter and Violations Greg on Facebook.  Please excuse any typos….this was written on the road and in a stream of consciousness.