Ernie Harwell
Encyclopedia
William Earnest "Ernie" Harwell (January 25, 1918 – May 4, 2010) was an American sportscaster
, known for his long career calling play-by-play
of Major League Baseball
games. For 55 years, 42 of them with the Detroit Tigers
, Harwell called the action on radio
and/or television
. In January 2009, the American Sportscasters Association ranked Harwell 16th on its list of Top 50 Sportscasters of All Time.
, working in his youth as a paperboy for the Atlanta Georgian
; one of his customers was writer Margaret Mitchell
. He was an avid baseball fan from an early age; he became visiting batboy for the Atlanta Crackers
of the Southern Association
at the age of five, and never had to buy a ticket to get into a baseball game again. At sixteen he began working as a regional correspondent for The Sporting News
.
Harwell attended Emory University
, where he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon
fraternity and helped edit The Emory Wheel
. After graduating, Harwell worked as a copy editor
and sportswriter for the Atlanta Constitution. In 1943, he began announcing games for the Crackers on WSB
radio, after which he served four years in the United States Marine Corps
.
' general manager, Branch Rickey
, traded catcher Cliff Dapper
to the Crackers in exchange for breaking Harwell's broadcasting contract. (Harwell was brought to Brooklyn to substitute for regular Dodger announcer Red Barber
, who was hospitalized with a bleeding ulcer.)
Harwell broadcast for the Dodgers through , the New York Giants
from – (including his call of Bobby Thomson
's "shot heard 'round the world
" in the National League
pennant playoff game on NBC television), and the Baltimore Orioles
from –. Early in his career, he also broadcast The Masters
golf
tournament, as well as pro and college football
.
. George Kell
had begun doing Tigers radio and TV broadcasts in 1959, and was instrumental in bringing Harwell to Detroit. "George called and said, 'I recommended you and the Tigers asked me to get in touch with you.'" Harwell said. "I came and that was it."
Harwell teamed with Ray Lane
in the broadcast booth from 1967-72. In 1973, Paul Carey
replaced Lane to form the Tigers' best-known and longest-lasting broadcasting team, which lasted until the end of the 1991 season.
On December 19, 1990, the Tigers and radio station WJR
announced that the station wanted to go in a "new direction" and that 1991 would be Harwell's last, as his contract was "non-renewed". (Carey then announced that he had already planned to retire after the 1991 season, and that the decision was unrelated to Harwell's contract situation.) Fans across Michigan and throughout the baseball world were outraged, but the ballclub and the radio station (who eventually wound up blaming each other for the decision) stood firm: "(Harwell's firing is) not going to change no matter how much clamor is made over it," said team president Bo Schembechler
. (The former University of Michigan
football coach, a legend in his own right in the Wolverine State, continued to face harsh criticism before quitting in 1992, when owner Tom Monaghan
sold the team). Rick Rizzs
was hired away from the Seattle Mariners
to call Detroit's games in 1992, teaming with Bob Rathbun
, but they were not as popular as Harwell and Carey had been.
Harwell worked a part-time schedule for the California Angels
in . The following year, the Tigers were purchased by Mike Ilitch
, who made it one of his first priorities to bring Harwell back. The 1993 season concluded with a three-person radio team (Rizzs, Rathbun and Harwell) with Harwell calling play-by-play for innings 1–3 and 7–9 of each game. From to , Harwell called television broadcasts for the Tigers. In , he resumed full-time radio duties with the team, swapping roles with Frank Beckmann (who had replaced Rizzs in the radio booth following the 1994 season), teaming with analyst Jim Price
, and continuing in that role through . During spring training of that year, Harwell announced that he would retire at the end of the season—this time on his own terms; his final broadcast came on September 29, 2002. Dan Dickerson
, who had joined Harwell and Price in , took over as the Tigers' lead radio voice.
and two World Series
(1963
, 1968
) for NBC Radio, numerous ALCS
and ALDS
series for CBS Radio
and ESPN Radio, and the CBS Radio Game of the Week
from to . He also called the 1984 World Series
locally for the Tigers and WJR.
telecast on ESPN
, as part of that network's "Living Legends" series of guest announcers. In 2005, Harwell guested for an inning on the Fox network's coverage of the All-Star Game
(which was held in Detroit that year), as well as an inning on the ESPN Radio broadcast. For Game 3 of the 2006 American League Division Series
between the Tigers
and New York Yankees
, he provided guest commentary on ESPN
's telecast for two innings, called an inning of play-by-play on the Tigers' radio flagship WXYT, and guested for an inning on ESPN Radio. Harwell also called one inning of Game 1 of the 2006 World Series
for WXYT.
Harwell served as a guest color commentator
for two Tiger games on FSN Detroit on May 24 and 25, 2007
. Harwell worked the telecasts (alongside play-by-play man Mario Impemba
) as a substitute for regular analyst Rod Allen
, who took the games off to attend his son's high school graduation. (Harwell had filled in for Allen once before, on a telecast.)
He also appeared as a guest on an ESPN Sunday Night Baseball
telecast in Detroit on July 1, 2007. His typical sense of humor was on display. He talked about working beside the deep-voiced Paul Carey ("next to him, everyone sounds like a soprano
") for 19 years, "which seemed like 30." He then asked Jon Miller
and Joe Morgan
how long they had worked together. "19 years." Harwell grinned at both of them, "Uh-huh, uh-huh."
Harwell occasionally did vignettes on the history of baseball for Fox Sports Detroit
's magazine program Tigers Weekly.
Harwell would also begin the first spring training
broadcast of each season with a reading from Song of Solomon
2:11-12 (KJV): "For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land."
named Harwell as Michigan Sportscaster of the Year 19 times, and inducted him into its Hall of Fame in 1989. In 1991, Harwell was inducted into the American Sportscasters Association
Hall of Fame. Harwell was also honored by the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981 as the fifth broadcaster to receive its Ford C. Frick Award
, and was elected to the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame
and the National Radio Hall of Fame in 1998, among many other honors. In 2001, Harwell was the recipient of the prestigious Ty Tyson Award for Excellence in Sports Broadcasting, awarded by the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association (DSBA). In 2009, Harwell was named the first recipient of the DSBA's Ernie Harwell Lifetime Contribution Award. The award, called the Ernie Harwell Lifetime Contribution Award, is named after the Hall of Fame Detroit Tigers announcer. Harwell is the first winner of the award. The award will annually honor an individual from the broadcast industry who has contributed outstanding time and effort to the betterment of sports broadcasting through a lifetime body of work. Emory University inducted Harwell to its Hall of Fame in 1990. The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame
inducted Harwell in 2008. In 2010 Harwell was named as a recipient of the Vin Scully Lifetime Achievement Award from Fordham University
radio station WFUV
. The press box at Detroit's Comerica Park
was officially named the "Ernie Harwell Media Center" following his retirement from broadcasting. The Cleveland Indians
also named their visiting radio booth at Progressive Field after Harwell.
Harwell's 1955 essay "The Game for All America", originally published in The Sporting News and reprinted numerous times, is considered a classic of baseball literature. He also authored several books, and penned an occasional column for the Detroit Free Press
.
Harwell also wrote popular music. His first recorded song was "Upside Down" on the Something Stupid album by Homer and Jethro
in the mid-1960s. In the liner notes of the album, it says: "Detroit Tiger baseball announcer wrote this one, and we think it's a fine observation of the world today, as seen from the press box at Tiger Stadium. We were up there with Ernie one day and from there the world looks upside down. In fact, the Mets were on top in the National League." All told, 66 songs written by Ernie Harwell have been recorded by various artists. "Needless to say, I have more no-hitters than Nolan Ryan." – Ernie Harwell in article published May 31, 2005 in the Detroit Free Press
Harwell made a cameo appearance
in the 1994 film Cobb
and in the made-for-television movies Aunt Mary (1979), Tiger Town
(1983), and Cooperstown (1993). His voice can be briefly heard in the films Paper Lion
(1968) and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
(1975) and in the TV movie The Five People You Meet in Heaven
(2004). Harwell appeared as an interview subject in the 1998 documentary film The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg
and contributed to numerous other baseball-themed documentaries and retrospectives over the years.
The 1997
text-based computer simulation game APBA
for Windows: Broadcast Blast features play-by-play commentary by Harwell.
Harwell served as a spokesman for Blue Cross-Blue Shield
of Michigan. His contract with the organization, which began in 2003, ran for ten years with an option for another ten. Had Harwell fulfilled the entire contract (by which time he would have been 95 years old), Blue Cross had pledged to extend it for yet another decade. Harwell formerly ran a blog about healthy living and fitness for BCBS. He retired from it on March 5, 2009.
A devout Christian
, Harwell had long been involved with the Baseball Chapel, an evangelistic
organization for professional ballplayers.
In 2004, the Detroit Public Library
dedicated a room to Ernie Harwell and his wife, Lulu, which will house Harwell's collection of baseball memorabilia valued at over two million dollars.
On April 26, 2008 Harwell was presented with an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from The University of Michigan at their Spring Commencement ceremony. One week later, on May 3, 2008, he was presented with another Honorary Degree of Laws this time from Wayne State University
.
In late 2008, Harwell began to appear in television public service announcement
s for the Michigan Association of Broadcasters, advising viewers about the Digital television transition in the United States.
Harwell was a member of the Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy Board, an organization which attempted to save portions of Tiger Stadium. He offered to donate a large portion of his historic collection of baseball memorabilia, which he had collected over the course of his storied career, if part of Tiger Stadium could have been saved for a museum.
Harwell lived in Farmington Hills, Michigan and moved to Novi, Michigan
in the late 1990s where he lived until his death. Up until just before his death, he still exercised regularly, did sit-ups, used a treadmill, and lifted weights.
, and that he, his family and doctors had decided against surgery or other treatment of the condition. On September 16, Harwell gave a farewell address to fans at Comerica Park
between innings of a game between the Tigers
and the Kansas City Royals
.
Harwell sat down for a 60 minute interview on an episode of MLB Network
's Studio 42 with Bob Costas, his final television appearance. The episode premiered November 17, 2009. In the interview, Costas correctly foresaw the 2009 World Series
would unfortunately be Harwell's last.
Harwell died on May 4, 2010, at his home in Novi, Michigan
of bile duct cancer, surrounded by his wife of 68 years, Lulu, and their four children.
He was set to receive the Vin Scully
Lifetime Achievement Award in Sports Broadcasting on May 5 in New York City
, just one day after his passing. Harwell considered Scully to be the best broadcaster of all-time. However, in accepting the award on Harwell's behalf, Al Kaline
noted "We Tiger fans respectfully disagree."
Harwell lay in repose at Comerica Park on May 6. Over 10,000 fans filed past the open casket. May 10 was declared Ernie Harwell Day at Comerica Park. Several players and broadcasters hoisted a flag in center field bearing his initials, similar to the ones that are now sewn onto all Tigers
uniforms. Harwell's longtime broadcasting partner Paul Carey
threw out the ceremonial first pitch that night.
Sportscaster
In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...
, known for his long career calling play-by-play
Sports commentator
In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...
of Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
games. For 55 years, 42 of them with the Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
, Harwell called the action on radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and/or television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
. In January 2009, the American Sportscasters Association ranked Harwell 16th on its list of Top 50 Sportscasters of All Time.
Early life and career
Ernie Harwell grew up in Atlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, working in his youth as a paperboy for the Atlanta Georgian
Atlanta Georgian
The Atlanta Georgian was a daily afternoon newspaper in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded by New Jersey native, Fred Loring Seely, the first issue was April 25, 1906, with editor John Temple Graves. They mainly criticized saloons and the convict lease system. In February 1907, Seely expanded the paper by...
; one of his customers was writer Margaret Mitchell
Margaret Mitchell
Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell was an American author and journalist. Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1937 for her epic American Civil War era novel, Gone with the Wind, which was the only novel by Mitchell published during her lifetime.-Family:Margaret Mitchell was born in Atlanta,...
. He was an avid baseball fan from an early age; he became visiting batboy for the Atlanta Crackers
Atlanta Crackers
The Atlanta Crackers were minor league baseball teams based in Atlanta, Georgia, between 1901 and 1965. The Crackers were Atlanta's home team until the Atlanta Braves moved from Milwaukee in 1966....
of the Southern Association
Southern Association
The Southern Association was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class A , Class A1 and Class AA...
at the age of five, and never had to buy a ticket to get into a baseball game again. At sixteen he began working as a regional correspondent for The Sporting News
The Sporting News
Sporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
.
Harwell attended Emory University
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
, where he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon
Sigma Alpha Epsilon
Sigma Alpha Epsilon is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity founded at the University of Alabama on March 9, 1856. Of all existing national social fraternities today, Sigma Alpha Epsilon is the only one founded in the Antebellum South...
fraternity and helped edit The Emory Wheel
The Emory Wheel
The Emory Wheel is the student-run newspaper of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. The Wheel is published twice a week, on Tuesday and Friday, during the regular school year, and is updated regularly at its . The sections of the Wheel include News, Editorials, Sports, Entertainment, Arts &...
. After graduating, Harwell worked as a copy editor
Copy editing
Copy editing is the work that an editor does to improve the formatting, style, and accuracy of text. Unlike general editing, copy editing might not involve changing the substance of the text. Copy refers to written or typewritten text for typesetting, printing, or publication...
and sportswriter for the Atlanta Constitution. In 1943, he began announcing games for the Crackers on WSB
WSB (AM)
WSB — branded AM 750 and 95.5 FM News/Talk WSB — is a commercial radio station licensed to Atlanta, Georgia broadcasting a news/talk format. The station transmits with 50,000 watts of nondirectional power day and night, enjoying clear-channel status on its broadcast frequency according to the U.S...
radio, after which he served four years in the United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
.
Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Giants, and Baltimore Orioles
In , Harwell became the only announcer in baseball history to be traded for a player when the Brooklyn DodgersHistory of the Brooklyn Dodgers
-Early Brooklyn baseball:Brooklyn was home to numerous baseball clubs in the mid-1850s. Eight of 16 participants in the first convention were from Brooklyn, including the Atlantic, Eckford, and Excelsior clubs that combined to dominate play for most of the 1860s...
' general manager, Branch Rickey
Branch Rickey
Wesley Branch Rickey was an innovative Major League Baseball executive elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1967...
, traded catcher Cliff Dapper
Cliff Dapper
Clifford Roland Dapper was a Major League Baseball catcher who played for the Brooklyn Dodgers during the 1942 season. Listed at 6'2", 190 lbs., he batted and threw right handed....
to the Crackers in exchange for breaking Harwell's broadcasting contract. (Harwell was brought to Brooklyn to substitute for regular Dodger announcer Red Barber
Red Barber
Walter Lanier "Red" Barber was an American sportscaster.Barber, nicknamed "The Ol' Redhead", was primarily identified with radio broadcasts of Major League Baseball, calling play-by-play across four decades with the Cincinnati Reds , Brooklyn Dodgers , and New York Yankees...
, who was hospitalized with a bleeding ulcer.)
Harwell broadcast for the Dodgers through , the New York Giants
History of the New York Giants (NL)
The history of the New York Giants, before the franchise moved to San Francisco, lasted from 1883 to 1957. It featured five of the franchise's six World Series wins and 17 of its 21 National League pennants...
from – (including his call of Bobby Thomson
Bobby Thomson
Robert Brown "Bobby" Thomson was a Scottish-born American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "The Staten Island Scot", he was an outfielder and right-handed batter for the New York Giants , Milwaukee Braves , Chicago Cubs , Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles .His season-ending three-run...
's "shot heard 'round the world
Shot Heard 'Round the World (baseball)
In baseball, the "Shot Heard 'round the World" is the term given to the walk-off home run hit by New York Giants outfielder Bobby Thomson off Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca at the Polo Grounds to win the National League pennant at 3:58 p.m...
" in the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
pennant playoff game on NBC television), and the Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
from –. Early in his career, he also broadcast The Masters
The Masters Tournament
The Masters Tournament, also known as The Masters , is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, it is the first of the majors to be played each year...
golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
tournament, as well as pro and college football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
.
Detroit Tigers
In , Harwell became the "voice" of the Tigers, replacing Van PatrickVan Patrick
Van Patrick was an American sportscaster, best known for his play-by-play work with the Detroit Lions and Detroit Tigers....
. George Kell
George Kell
George Clyde Kell was an American baseball third baseman who played for the Philadelphia Athletics , Detroit Tigers , Boston Red Sox , Chicago White Sox , and Baltimore Orioles in the American League, who went on to become a baseball broadcaster for 40 years.-Playing career:In college, Kell...
had begun doing Tigers radio and TV broadcasts in 1959, and was instrumental in bringing Harwell to Detroit. "George called and said, 'I recommended you and the Tigers asked me to get in touch with you.'" Harwell said. "I came and that was it."
Harwell teamed with Ray Lane
Ray Lane
Ray Lane is a sports broadcasting figure in Detroit, Michigan. During the late 1940s, Ray played baseball and basketball for the Stags of Mackenzie High School...
in the broadcast booth from 1967-72. In 1973, Paul Carey
Paul Carey (broadcaster)
Paul Carey is an American broadcaster and sportscaster who broadcast professionally in six different decades and is a member of the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame.-Early life:...
replaced Lane to form the Tigers' best-known and longest-lasting broadcasting team, which lasted until the end of the 1991 season.
On December 19, 1990, the Tigers and radio station WJR
WJR
WJR is a radio station in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It broadcasts a news/talk format. It is a class A clear channel station whose broadcasts can be heard throughout most of the Midwest, eastern United States and Canada at night, making it one of the most powerful radio stations in the...
announced that the station wanted to go in a "new direction" and that 1991 would be Harwell's last, as his contract was "non-renewed". (Carey then announced that he had already planned to retire after the 1991 season, and that the decision was unrelated to Harwell's contract situation.) Fans across Michigan and throughout the baseball world were outraged, but the ballclub and the radio station (who eventually wound up blaming each other for the decision) stood firm: "(Harwell's firing is) not going to change no matter how much clamor is made over it," said team president Bo Schembechler
Bo Schembechler
Glenn Edward "Bo" Schembechler, Jr. was an American football player, coach, and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Miami University from 1963 to 1968 and at the University of Michigan from 1969 to 1989, compiling a career record of 234–65–8...
. (The former University of Michigan
Michigan Wolverines football
The Michigan Wolverines football program represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in college football history...
football coach, a legend in his own right in the Wolverine State, continued to face harsh criticism before quitting in 1992, when owner Tom Monaghan
Tom Monaghan
Thomas Stephen "Tom" Monaghan is an entrepreneur and Catholic philanthropist and activist who founded Domino's Pizza in 1960. He owned the Detroit Tigers from 1983-1992....
sold the team). Rick Rizzs
Rick Rizzs
Rick Rizzs is an American sportscaster and is the lead radio voice for Major League Baseball's Seattle Mariners.-Early life and career:Rizzs is a 1975 graduate of Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. From 1975 to 1980, he handled baseball play-by-play duties at the double-A level for...
was hired away from the Seattle Mariners
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are a professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. Enfranchised in , the Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Safeco Field has been the Mariners' home ballpark since July...
to call Detroit's games in 1992, teaming with Bob Rathbun
Bob Rathbun
Bob Rathbun is a sports television announcer. He has been the announcer for the Atlanta Hawks basketball games on FSN South since 1996. He is currently partnered with Dominique Wilkins...
, but they were not as popular as Harwell and Carey had been.
Harwell worked a part-time schedule for the California Angels
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are a professional baseball team based in Anaheim, California, United States. The Angels are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The "Angels" name originates from the city in which the team started, Los Angeles...
in . The following year, the Tigers were purchased by Mike Ilitch
Mike Ilitch
Michael "Mike" Ilitch Sr. is an American entrepreneur and owner of the Detroit Red Wings and the Detroit Tigers. In addition to his sports ownerships, he is the founder and owner of Little Caesars Pizza since 1959, which has become an international fast food franchise...
, who made it one of his first priorities to bring Harwell back. The 1993 season concluded with a three-person radio team (Rizzs, Rathbun and Harwell) with Harwell calling play-by-play for innings 1–3 and 7–9 of each game. From to , Harwell called television broadcasts for the Tigers. In , he resumed full-time radio duties with the team, swapping roles with Frank Beckmann (who had replaced Rizzs in the radio booth following the 1994 season), teaming with analyst Jim Price
Jim Price (baseball)
Jimmie William Price is a former catcher in Major League Baseball who played with the Detroit Tigers from 1967 to 1973...
, and continuing in that role through . During spring training of that year, Harwell announced that he would retire at the end of the season—this time on his own terms; his final broadcast came on September 29, 2002. Dan Dickerson
Dan Dickerson
Dan Dickerson is an American sportscaster, best known for his current position as the lead radio play-by-play voice of Major League Baseball's Detroit Tigers on the Detroit Tigers Radio Network, joined by color commentator and former Tigers catcher Jim Price.-Early life and education:Dickerson...
, who had joined Harwell and Price in , took over as the Tigers' lead radio voice.
As a national broadcaster
Nationally, Harwell broadcast two All-Star GamesMajor League Baseball All-Star Game
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...
and two World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
(1963
1963 World Series
The 1963 World Series matched the two-time defending champion New York Yankees against the Los Angeles Dodgers, with the Dodgers sweeping the Series in four games to capture their second title in five years, and their third in franchise history....
, 1968
1968 World Series
The 1968 World Series featured the defending champion St. Louis Cardinals against the Detroit Tigers, with the Tigers winning in seven games for their first championship since 1945, and the third in their history...
) for NBC Radio, numerous ALCS
American League Championship Series
In Major League Baseball, the American League Championship Series , played in October, is a round in the postseason that determines the winner of the American League pennant...
and ALDS
American League Division Series
In Major League Baseball, the American League Division Series determines which two teams from the American League will advance to the American League Championship Series...
series for CBS Radio
Major League Baseball on CBS Radio
Major League Baseball on CBS Radio was the de facto title for the CBS Radio Network's coverage of Major League Baseball. Produced by CBS Radio Sports , the program was the official national radio broadcaster for the All-Star Game and the postseason from 1976 to 1997.-Contracts:CBS first covered...
and ESPN Radio, and the CBS Radio Game of the Week
Major League Baseball Game of the Week
The Major League Baseball Game of the Week is the de facto title for over-the-air, nationally televised coverage of regular season Major League Baseball games...
from to . He also called the 1984 World Series
1984 World Series
The 1984 World Series began on October 9 and ended on October 14, 1984. The American League champion Detroit Tigers played against the National League champion San Diego Padres, with the Tigers winning the series four games to one....
locally for the Tigers and WJR.
Post-retirement broadcasting works
Following his retirement, Harwell came back briefly in 2003 to call a Wednesday Night BaseballWednesday Night Baseball
Wednesday Night Baseball is a live game telecast of Major League Baseball that airs every Wednesday night during the regular season on ESPN and is also available in high definition on ESPNHD...
telecast on ESPN
ESPN Major League Baseball
ESPN Major League Baseball is a promotion of Major League Baseball on ESPN and ESPN2, with simulcasts on ESPNHD or ESPN2HD. ESPN's MLB coverage debuted on April 9, 1990 with three Opening Day telecasts. ESPN Major League Baseball is guaranteed to remain on air until 2013.The title is derived from...
, as part of that network's "Living Legends" series of guest announcers. In 2005, Harwell guested for an inning on the Fox network's coverage of the All-Star Game
2005 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 2005 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 76th playing of the midseason exhibition baseball game between the all-stars of the American League and National League , the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July 12, 2005 at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan,...
(which was held in Detroit that year), as well as an inning on the ESPN Radio broadcast. For Game 3 of the 2006 American League Division Series
2006 American League Division Series
-Game 1, October 3:Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New YorkA five-run third inning by the Yankees put the game out of reach for the Tigers. Bobby Abreu doubled to score Johnny Damon and Derek Jeter . Gary Sheffield then singled in Abreu, and Jason Giambi launched a two-run home run for a commanding 5–0...
between the Tigers
2006 Detroit Tigers season
The 2006 Detroit Tigers won the American League Pennant. They represented the AL in the World Series before falling to the St. Louis Cardinals 4 games to 1. The season was their 106th since they entered the AL in 1901.- Regular season :...
and New York Yankees
2006 New York Yankees season
The New York Yankees 2006 season was the Yankees 104th season in New York, and their 106th overall going back to their origins in Baltimore. The season finished with the Yankees winning the AL East Division...
, he provided guest commentary on ESPN
ESPN Major League Baseball
ESPN Major League Baseball is a promotion of Major League Baseball on ESPN and ESPN2, with simulcasts on ESPNHD or ESPN2HD. ESPN's MLB coverage debuted on April 9, 1990 with three Opening Day telecasts. ESPN Major League Baseball is guaranteed to remain on air until 2013.The title is derived from...
's telecast for two innings, called an inning of play-by-play on the Tigers' radio flagship WXYT, and guested for an inning on ESPN Radio. Harwell also called one inning of Game 1 of the 2006 World Series
2006 World Series
The 2006 World Series, the 102nd edition of Major League Baseball's championship series, began on October 21 and ended on October 27, and matched the American League champion Detroit Tigers against the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals won the Series in five games, taking...
for WXYT.
Harwell served as a guest color commentator
Color commentator
A color commentator is a sports commentator who assists the play-by-play announcer, often by filling in any time when play is not in progress. The color analyst and main commentator will often exchange comments freely throughout the broadcast, when the play-by-play announcer is not describing the...
for two Tiger games on FSN Detroit on May 24 and 25, 2007
2007 Detroit Tigers season
The Detroit Tigers 2007 season ended with the Tigers finishing runner-up in the AL Central Division. They failed in winning the Wild Card, a task which they achieved in 2006, and going on to win the AL Pennant....
. Harwell worked the telecasts (alongside play-by-play man Mario Impemba
Mario Impemba
Mario Impemba is an American sportscaster, currently the TV voice of the Detroit Tigers and the radio and TV voice of the Oakland Golden Grizzlies men's basketball team.-Early life:...
) as a substitute for regular analyst Rod Allen
Rod Allen
Roderick Bernet "Rod" Allen is a baseball analyst, currently for the Detroit Tigers on Fox Sports Detroit. He also analyzes for other games on Fox Saturday Baseball when the Tigers don't play on Fox Sports Detroit...
, who took the games off to attend his son's high school graduation. (Harwell had filled in for Allen once before, on a telecast.)
He also appeared as a guest on an ESPN Sunday Night Baseball
Sunday Night Baseball
Sunday Night Baseball is the Major League Baseball exclusive game of the week that is televised Sunday nights at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN during the regular season...
telecast in Detroit on July 1, 2007. His typical sense of humor was on display. He talked about working beside the deep-voiced Paul Carey ("next to him, everyone sounds like a soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
") for 19 years, "which seemed like 30." He then asked Jon Miller
Jon Miller
Jon Wallace Miller is an American sportscaster, known primarily for his broadcasts of Major League Baseball. He is currently employed as a play-by-play announcer for the San Francisco Giants. He was also a baseball announcer on ESPN until the network chose not to renew his contract following the...
and Joe Morgan
Joe Morgan
Joe Leonard Morgan is a former Major League Baseball second baseman who played for the Houston Astros, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, and Oakland Athletics from 1963 to 1984. He won two World Series championships with the Reds in 1975 and 1976 and was also named the...
how long they had worked together. "19 years." Harwell grinned at both of them, "Uh-huh, uh-huh."
Harwell occasionally did vignettes on the history of baseball for Fox Sports Detroit
Fox Sports Detroit
Fox Sports Detroit , is a regional sports network that covers local sports teams in the state of Michigan, mostly those in the Metro Detroit area. It is an owned and operated affiliate of Fox Sports Net...
's magazine program Tigers Weekly.
Broadcasting style
He was known for his low-key delivery, southern accent (Detroit "Ti-guhs"), and conversational style. Some of his trademark phrases were:- "That one is long gone!" (His trademark home run call, with an emphasis on "long")
- "He stood there like the house by the side of the road, and watched it go by." (After a called strikeout)
- "Called out for excessive window shopping." (Also after a called strikeout)
- "It's two for the price of one!" (After a double play)
- "A fan from [insert a city] will be taking that ball home today." (When a fan would catch a foul ball)
- "The Tigers need instant runs." (When the team was behind in the late innings)
Harwell would also begin the first spring training
Spring training
In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...
broadcast of each season with a reading from Song of Solomon
Song of Solomon
The Song of Songs of Solomon, commonly referred to as Song of Songs or Song of Solomon, is a book of the Hebrew Bible—one of the megillot —found in the last section of the Tanakh, known as the Ketuvim...
2:11-12 (KJV): "For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land."
Awards and non-broadcast activities
The National Sportscasters and Sportswriters AssociationNational Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association
The National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, or NSSA, is an organization of sports media members in the United States. It constitutes the American chapter of the International Sports Press Association ....
named Harwell as Michigan Sportscaster of the Year 19 times, and inducted him into its Hall of Fame in 1989. In 1991, Harwell was inducted into the American Sportscasters Association
American Sportscasters Association
American Sportscasters Association was founded in 1979 by broadcaster Dick London and associate attorney Harold Foner as a non profit association to represent sportscasters by promoting and supporting the needs and interests of the professional sports broadcaster.-History:In 1980, Louis O...
Hall of Fame. Harwell was also honored by the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981 as the fifth broadcaster to receive its Ford C. Frick Award
Ford C. Frick Award
The Ford C. Frick Award is presented annually by the National Baseball Hall of Fame in the United States to a broadcaster for "major contributions to baseball." It is named for Ford Christopher Frick, former Commissioner of Major League Baseball...
, and was elected to the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame
Michigan Sports Hall of Fame
The Michigan Sports Hall of Fame is a Hall of Fame to honor Michigan sports people. It was organized in 1954 by Michigan Lieutenant Governor Philip Hart, Michigan State University athletic director Biggie Munn, president of the Greater Michigan Foundation Donald Weeks, general manager of the...
and the National Radio Hall of Fame in 1998, among many other honors. In 2001, Harwell was the recipient of the prestigious Ty Tyson Award for Excellence in Sports Broadcasting, awarded by the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association (DSBA). In 2009, Harwell was named the first recipient of the DSBA's Ernie Harwell Lifetime Contribution Award. The award, called the Ernie Harwell Lifetime Contribution Award, is named after the Hall of Fame Detroit Tigers announcer. Harwell is the first winner of the award. The award will annually honor an individual from the broadcast industry who has contributed outstanding time and effort to the betterment of sports broadcasting through a lifetime body of work. Emory University inducted Harwell to its Hall of Fame in 1990. The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame
Georgia Sports Hall of Fame
The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame is located in Macon, Georgia. It is the largest state sports hall of fame in America at .-Exhibitions:The Hall of Fame houses over of exhibit space broken down into sections including Hall of Fame Inductees, High School, collegiate sports, Olympic, Paralympic,...
inducted Harwell in 2008. In 2010 Harwell was named as a recipient of the Vin Scully Lifetime Achievement Award from Fordham University
Fordham University
Fordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St...
radio station WFUV
WFUV
WFUV, 90.7 FM in New York City, is Fordham University's 50,000-watt, non-commercial radio station, with studios on campus and its antenna atop nearby Montefiore Medical Center. First broadcast in 1947, WFUV has an airstaff which includes such New York radio veterans as Pete Fornatale , Dennis...
. The press box at Detroit's Comerica Park
Comerica Park
Comerica Park is an open-air ballpark located in downtown Detroit, Michigan. It serves as the home of the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball's American League, replacing historic Tiger Stadium in 2000....
was officially named the "Ernie Harwell Media Center" following his retirement from broadcasting. The Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
also named their visiting radio booth at Progressive Field after Harwell.
Harwell's 1955 essay "The Game for All America", originally published in The Sporting News and reprinted numerous times, is considered a classic of baseball literature. He also authored several books, and penned an occasional column for the Detroit Free Press
Detroit Free Press
The Detroit Free Press is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, USA. The Sunday edition is entitled the Sunday Free Press. It is sometimes informally referred to as the "Freep"...
.
Harwell also wrote popular music. His first recorded song was "Upside Down" on the Something Stupid album by Homer and Jethro
Homer and Jethro
Homer and Jethro were the stage names of American country music duo Henry D. Haynes and Kenneth C. Burns , popular from the 1940s through the 1960s on radio and television for their satirical versions of popular songs...
in the mid-1960s. In the liner notes of the album, it says: "Detroit Tiger baseball announcer wrote this one, and we think it's a fine observation of the world today, as seen from the press box at Tiger Stadium. We were up there with Ernie one day and from there the world looks upside down. In fact, the Mets were on top in the National League." All told, 66 songs written by Ernie Harwell have been recorded by various artists. "Needless to say, I have more no-hitters than Nolan Ryan." – Ernie Harwell in article published May 31, 2005 in the Detroit Free Press
Harwell made a cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
in the 1994 film Cobb
Cobb (film)
Cobb is a 1994 biopic starring Tommy Lee Jones as the famed baseball player Ty Cobb. It was written and directed by Ron Shelton and was based on a book by Al Stump...
and in the made-for-television movies Aunt Mary (1979), Tiger Town
Tiger Town
Tiger Town is the first made-for-TV movie produced for the Disney Channel, produced in 1983. It was awarded a CableACE Award in 1984 for Best Dramatic Film. The film stars Roy Scheider as Billy Young, an aging baseball player for the Detroit Tigers, and Justin Henry as Alex, a young fan who...
(1983), and Cooperstown (1993). His voice can be briefly heard in the films Paper Lion
Paper Lion
Paper Lion, published in 1966, is a non-fiction book by prominent American writer George Plimpton.In 1960, Plimpton, not a professional athlete, arranged to pitch to a lineup of baseball stars in an All-Star exhibition, presumably to answer the question, "How would the average man off of the street...
(1968) and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (film)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a 1975 American drama film directed by Miloš Forman and based on the 1962 novel of the same name by Ken Kesey....
(1975) and in the TV movie The Five People You Meet in Heaven
The Five People You Meet in Heaven
The Five People You Meet in Heaven is a novel by Mitch Albom. It recounts the life and death of an old maintenance man named Eddie. After dying in an accident, Eddie finds himself in heaven where he encounters five people who have significantly affected his life, whether he realized at the time or...
(2004). Harwell appeared as an interview subject in the 1998 documentary film The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg
The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg
The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg is a documentary film directed, produced and written by Aviva Kempner about Hall of Fame first baseman Hank Greenberg of the Detroit Tigers. A Jewish player who chose not to play on Yom Kippur in 1934 during a heated pennant race, Greenberg experienced a great...
and contributed to numerous other baseball-themed documentaries and retrospectives over the years.
The 1997
1997 in video gaming
-Events:*October 4 — Gunpei Yokoi dies after a double car accident.*November – Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association launched.*3rd annual E3...
text-based computer simulation game APBA
APBA
APBA is a game company founded in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It was created in 1951 by J. Richard Seitz. The game company on their official website states that the letters stood for "American Professional Baseball Association" which was the name of a boyhood league Mr. Seitz participated in with his...
for Windows: Broadcast Blast features play-by-play commentary by Harwell.
Harwell served as a spokesman for Blue Cross-Blue Shield
Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association
The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association is a federation of 39 separate health insurance organizations and companies in the United States. Combined, they directly or indirectly provide health insurance to over 100 million Americans. The history of Blue Cross dates back to 1929, while the history of...
of Michigan. His contract with the organization, which began in 2003, ran for ten years with an option for another ten. Had Harwell fulfilled the entire contract (by which time he would have been 95 years old), Blue Cross had pledged to extend it for yet another decade. Harwell formerly ran a blog about healthy living and fitness for BCBS. He retired from it on March 5, 2009.
A devout Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
, Harwell had long been involved with the Baseball Chapel, an evangelistic
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
organization for professional ballplayers.
In 2004, the Detroit Public Library
Detroit Public Library
The Detroit Public Library is the second largest library system in Michigan by volumes held , and is the 20th largest library system in the United States. It is composed of a Main Library on Woodward Avenue, which houses DPL administration offices, and twenty-three branch locations across the city...
dedicated a room to Ernie Harwell and his wife, Lulu, which will house Harwell's collection of baseball memorabilia valued at over two million dollars.
On April 26, 2008 Harwell was presented with an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from The University of Michigan at their Spring Commencement ceremony. One week later, on May 3, 2008, he was presented with another Honorary Degree of Laws this time from Wayne State University
Wayne State University
Wayne State University is a public research university located in Detroit, Michigan, United States, in the city's Midtown Cultural Center Historic District. Founded in 1868, WSU consists of 13 schools and colleges offering more than 400 major subject areas to over 32,000 graduate and...
.
In late 2008, Harwell began to appear in television public service announcement
Public service announcement
A public service announcement or public service ad is a type of advertisement featured on television, radio, print or other media...
s for the Michigan Association of Broadcasters, advising viewers about the Digital television transition in the United States.
Harwell was a member of the Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy Board, an organization which attempted to save portions of Tiger Stadium. He offered to donate a large portion of his historic collection of baseball memorabilia, which he had collected over the course of his storied career, if part of Tiger Stadium could have been saved for a museum.
Harwell lived in Farmington Hills, Michigan and moved to Novi, Michigan
Novi, Michigan
Novi is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the population was 55,224, an increase over the 2000 census count of 47,386. The city is located approximately northwest of the center of Detroit, and northeast of the center of Ann Arbor. The city is located...
in the late 1990s where he lived until his death. Up until just before his death, he still exercised regularly, did sit-ups, used a treadmill, and lifted weights.
Illness and death
On September 3, 2009, Harwell announced that he had been diagnosed with incurable bile duct cancerCholangiocarcinoma
Cholangiocarcinoma is a cancer of the bile ducts which drain bile from the liver into the small intestine. Other biliary tract cancers include pancreatic cancer, gallbladder cancer, and cancer of the ampulla of Vater...
, and that he, his family and doctors had decided against surgery or other treatment of the condition. On September 16, Harwell gave a farewell address to fans at Comerica Park
Comerica Park
Comerica Park is an open-air ballpark located in downtown Detroit, Michigan. It serves as the home of the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball's American League, replacing historic Tiger Stadium in 2000....
between innings of a game between the Tigers
2009 Detroit Tigers season
The 2009 Detroit Tigers season was the team's 109th season. The Tigers' new slogan for 2009 is "Always a Tiger." It replaces the 2006–2008 slogan "Who's Your Tiger?"...
and the Kansas City Royals
2009 Kansas City Royals season
The Kansas City Royals' 2009 season began on April 7 with a game against the Chicago White Sox at U. S. Cellular Field, which Chicago won. On April 10, the Royals hosted the New York Yankees in the first game at the newly renovated Kauffman Stadium for the Royals' home opener. Interleague opponents...
.
Harwell sat down for a 60 minute interview on an episode of MLB Network
MLB Network
MLB Network is an American television specialty channel dedicated to professional baseball. It is primarily owned by Major League Baseball. Comcast, DirecTV, Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications have minority ownership of the new network, with MLB retaining a controlling two-thirds share...
's Studio 42 with Bob Costas, his final television appearance. The episode premiered November 17, 2009. In the interview, Costas correctly foresaw the 2009 World Series
2009 World Series
The 2009 World Series was the 105th edition of Major League Baseball's championship series. The best-of-seven playoff was contested between the Philadelphia Phillies, champions of the National League and defending World Series champions, and the New York Yankees, champions of the American League...
would unfortunately be Harwell's last.
Harwell died on May 4, 2010, at his home in Novi, Michigan
Novi, Michigan
Novi is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the population was 55,224, an increase over the 2000 census count of 47,386. The city is located approximately northwest of the center of Detroit, and northeast of the center of Ann Arbor. The city is located...
of bile duct cancer, surrounded by his wife of 68 years, Lulu, and their four children.
He was set to receive the Vin Scully
Vin Scully
Vincent Edward Scully is an American sportscaster, known primarily as the play-by-play voice of the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team on Prime Ticket, KCAL-TV and KABC radio...
Lifetime Achievement Award in Sports Broadcasting on May 5 in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, just one day after his passing. Harwell considered Scully to be the best broadcaster of all-time. However, in accepting the award on Harwell's behalf, Al Kaline
Al Kaline
Albert William "Al" Kaline is a former Major League Baseball right fielder. He is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Kaline played his entire 22-year baseball career with the Detroit Tigers. Kaline still works for the Tigers as a front office official. Because of his lengthy career and...
noted "We Tiger fans respectfully disagree."
Harwell lay in repose at Comerica Park on May 6. Over 10,000 fans filed past the open casket. May 10 was declared Ernie Harwell Day at Comerica Park. Several players and broadcasters hoisted a flag in center field bearing his initials, similar to the ones that are now sewn onto all Tigers
2010 Detroit Tigers season
The 2010 Detroit Tigers season was the team's 110th season. This year saw the passing of legendary Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell, and nearly saw the first perfect game thrown by a Tigers pitcher. The Tigers spent most of the season in 2nd or 3rd place...
uniforms. Harwell's longtime broadcasting partner Paul Carey
Paul Carey (broadcaster)
Paul Carey is an American broadcaster and sportscaster who broadcast professionally in six different decades and is a member of the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame.-Early life:...
threw out the ceremonial first pitch that night.
External links
www.eharwell.com- Baseball Hall of Fame - Frick Award recipient
- Baseball Bids Farewell to Voice of the Tigers
- Harwells to receive honor from library
- Detroit News career article
- Salon.com tribute
- NPR Feature
- Ernie Harwell Online Exhibit from Detroit Public LibraryDetroit Public LibraryThe Detroit Public Library is the second largest library system in Michigan by volumes held , and is the 20th largest library system in the United States. It is composed of a Main Library on Woodward Avenue, which houses DPL administration offices, and twenty-three branch locations across the city...
. - Ernie Harwell passes away at age 92
- Ernie Harwell statue at Comerica Park
