I never had the pleasure of listening to Ernie Harwell on a regular basis, but when I got the opportunity to hear him call a baseball game, it was like listening to the smooth voice of God.
From USA Today:
Ernie Harwell, the acclaimed Tigers broadcaster whose eloquence and kindness made him a beloved Michigan institution, died Tuesday night after a nearly year-long bout with cancer. He was 92.
He died in his apartment at Fox Run Village, a retirement center in Novi, with Lulu, his wife of 68 years, at his side. His death came eight months to the day after he revealed to his fans, in an interview with the Detroit Free Press, that he had a cancerous tumor in the area of his bile duct and that in late July he had been given only a few months to live.
"I'm ready to face what comes," he said at the time. "Whether it's a long time or a short time is all right with me because it's up to my Lord and savior."
AUDIO PHOTO GALLERY: Detroit legend Ernie Harwell
In the ensuing months, in an emotional farewell ceremony at Comerica Park, in his columns for the Detroit Free Press and in interviews with national media, Harwell referred to death as his next great adventure, a gift handed down by God.
"I've had so many great ones," he said. "It's been a terrific life."
Harwell had one of the longest runs by a broadcaster with one major league club, calling Tigers games for 42 seasons. For the first 32 of those seasons, he made and cemented his legacy by doing play-by-play on the radio. His Southern voice — rich and authoritative but not overbearing — became as distinctive to Michigan listeners as baseball itself.
Unlike some announcers in recent decades, Harwell didn't litter his broadcasts with shouting, excessive talking or all-knowing pronouncements about players and managers. Listening to him was as pleasant as being at Tiger Stadium in the summertime. As he fell silent between pitches, listeners got to hear the sounds of the ballpark — the crowd's buzz, the vendor's cry — and absorb the rhythm of the game. Harwell thus became an ideal companion for a listener anywhere: the couch, the yard, the car or the boat.
"He's a master craftsman," former Tigers broadcaster Josh Lewin, now with the Texas Rangers, said in 2002. "He's always kept it simple, which I think is part of his charm and staying power."
In 2005, author and historian Curt Smith ranked Harwell as the third-greatest baseball announcer ever, only placing Harwell behind Dodgers legend Vin Scully and Yankees stalwart Mel Allen. Just behind Harwell were St. Louis' Jack Buck and New York's Red Barber. Smith, a student of baseball broadcasting, had 10 criteria for his rankings, ranging from longevity and acclaim to voice and personality.
Gob bless Ernie Harwell!
The Last Tradition
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