Here's how valued Ernie Harwell was.
Ernie was the long-time voice of the Detroit Tigers. He passed away
yesterday way too young at 92. But in 1948 he was broadcasting for the
Atlanta Crackers minor league team. Red Barber, the announcer for the
Brooklyn Dodgers took sick and the Dodgers needed a replacement. They
had heard good things about Ernie so they called the Crackers to see
if they might release their announcer. The Crackers said okay but they
had a need too. A catcher. So for the first and only time in history,
an announcer was traded for a player. Cliff Dapper went to Atlanta and
Ernie Harwell traveled north to Brooklyn.
And he stayed in the big leagues - for nearly 60 years. From 1960 on
he was the beloved voice of the Detroit "Ti-guhs" (as he called them
in his rich baritone twang).
Here's all you need to know about Ernie. I first met him in 1989. I
had just completed a season of calling minor league baseball and had
arranged with the Angels to use an open booth to record a demo tape.
They were playing the Tigers that night and I met Ernie. He thought my
story was interesting and asked if I would be his guest on the
pre-game show. Are you kidding? It was an HONOR. The gift for
appearing was a pair of shoes from some local Detroit shoe store. I
told Ernie I didn't plan to be in Detroit anytime soon so he was
welcome to give the gift certificate to someone who could use it.
Four innings into the game he finds me in my booth and wants to know
my address and shoe size. Two weeks later a pair of shoes arrived.
That was Ernie. With all that was going on around him, he was
concerned about me getting shoes.
Ernie was a true Southern Gentleman. And one of the nicest men I've
ever met. I cherish the fact that he and I have always stayed in
touch. I'm going to greatly miss trading emails with him.
I once asked Ernie if he saved his old scorecards. Among the many
milestones he's seen and called was Bobby Thomson's "shot heard round
the world" in 1951 (he did the game for NBC TV). Ernie said that yes,
he's kept them all - from his years with the Dodgers, Giants, Orioles,
and Tigers. I don't know where they are but what a treasure - pretty
much the history of baseball for the last seven decades.
Ernie was once asked the difference between announcing baseball on TV
and radio. He said, "On TV I provide captions for pictures. On radio
nothing happens until I say it happens." What he neglected to mention
was that his elegance and love of the game elevated what happened from
just baseball to warm summer nights with your dad, weekend cookouts,
and the best of America.
Farewell dear friend. Thanks again for the shoes. I wish I could have
walked a mile in yours.