Add Chris Wheeler to the significant events that happened 50 years ago with the Phillies: Veterans Stadium opened, young Harry Kalas replaced Philly broadcast icon Bill Campbell, Mike Schmidt was drafted in the second round and Rick Wise hit two home runs while pitching a no-hitter.

Wheeler was at the Vet’s first game as a fan, which may not necessarily classify as “significant,” I suppose. When he retired, he was the second-longest-tenured Phillies broadcaster. Without a doubt, that’s significant.

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“Andy Musser got me comps to the Vet opener,” he recalled. “Sat in Section 330. Following the game, my job was to drive Andy's wife, Eun-Joo, son Alan and daughter LuAnne home. Pretty good deal.”

Early in the 1971 season, Bill Giles, the executive vice present to whom I reported, gave permission to hire an assistant. Andy Musser was the sports director at WCAU radio and television. I got to know Andy as a member of the media. Sitting in the press dining room before a game, I mentioned looking for an assistant.

“I got the right person for you,” Musser said. “Chris Wheeler. You won’t go wrong.”

I arranged an interview with Wheeler, lunch in the Ovations Club at the Spectrum in late June. Yes, I picked up the tab. We talked about the position, and I made an offer. It was below what he was making working for General Electric in Valley Forge at the time. His passion growing up in Newtown Square was baseball and the Phillies. That passion and enthusiasm stood out for me.

Wheeler had a two-week summer camp commitment with the Army Reserve in Atlanta, which delayed joining the Phillies. He officially began a long Phillies career on Monday, July 5, 1971, as a public relations assistant. One day I referred to him as “Wheels” instead of Chris. The name stuck.

I had been splitting time between the press box and scoreboard control room. With Wheeler on board, I decided to spend the game in the press box. He went to the scoreboard control room where he supervised the scoreboard operator, PA announcer and organist Paul Richardson.

With his broadcasting background and my print media experience, we became a pretty good one-two combo.

We each did some traveling with the team until 1976. With the Phillies hosting the All-Star Game that summer, I needed to stay in the office planning for the Phillies' first major event in a long time. Wheels began to travel full-time.

The Phillies finally became a good ballclub that year. Clinching the division with a win in the first game of a season-ending doubleheader in Montreal, Wheels got an unexpected opportunity in the second game. As is often the case, as a PR person, we would occasionally stop in the radio or TV booth during the game.

As Wheels explained in his book, "View From The Booth":

“For some time, Richie Ashburn made me part of his on-the-air act. Whitey would say, ‘There’s a guy named Wheeler who works in our public relations department. He’s constantly handing me incorrect information that I use on the air, so if I make a mistake, it’s not my fault.’ When I walked into the booth, he simply said on the air, ‘Here’s this Chris Wheeler I’ve been talking about,’ and then he said to me, ‘Wheels, I know you’ve always wanted to do this, so I’m going to take off and leave you to work with Harry.’ Pure Ashburn.” Little did Wheels know, but he was about to embark on a new career.

Musser replaced the legendary By Saam in 1976. Wheels worked with his friend full-time in the radio booth starting the following season.

During his career that included radio and TV, Wheels’ partners included, in addition to Kalas and Ashburn, Tim McCarver, Garry Maddox, Jim Barniak, Schmidt, Jim Fregosi, Kent Tekulve, Jay Johnstone, Todd Kalas, Larry Rosen, Larry Andersen, Scott Graham, John Kruk, Tom McCarthy, Scott Franzke, Gary Matthews, Jim Jackson and Greg Murphy. Impressive company.

A kid growing up in suburban Philly got to live his dream. Kalas spent 38-plus seasons with the Phillies. Wheels was part of the broadcast team for 37 seasons (1977-2014). That’s significant. Yes, Phillies Royalty.