It has been a brutal week for sports fans in the Delaware Valley. It just got a little worse.

Still reeling from the loss of Harry Kalas, word has come of the loss of another distinctive voice of Philly sports.

If you are of a certain age, as I am, and the words “ring-tailed howitzer,” or “in-again, out-again Finnegan” have a very special meaning to you, you will know exactly what I am talking about.

Les Keiter, the early voice of the Big 5, has died. He was just a few weeks short of his 90th birthday.

Before “Big Al” Meltzer became the better known TV voice of the Big 5, it was Keiter who brought those special games – and very special era of Philly hoops into our homes.

There was one word to describe what usually happened inside the Palestra in those halcyon days, and it was Keiter who penned it: Pandemonium.

Keiter also was known for calling many of the biggest boxing matches, including the first Ali-Liston spectacle.

Much like Harry Kalas, The Big 5 is one of those things that is indelibly linked with Philadelphia sports.

And it was Les Keiter who provided the soundtrack to much of those thrilling moments.

Another legendary voice is silenced.