Ernie Harwell (1918-2010) passed away tonight. He has been fighting cancer of the bile duct for much of the past year. He died at home in Novi, MI with his wife Lulu at his side.
Harwell was the voice of the Tigers for many years (1960-2002). He was teamed up with Paul Carey from 1973-1991 and so it was their two voices that I associate most with the Tigers as a kid.
Here are some links...
Wikipedia
The Detroit News
The Freep
Tigers.com
and some of his greatest lines (at least the ones I remember from my days listen to the radio):
"He stood there like a house by the side of the road." (when a batter watched a strike go by)
"He was called out for excessive window shopping!" (same)
"Two for the price of one!" (when a double play was turned)
"It's loooooooong gone!" (a home run)
"That was caught by a fan from (pick any city/town in Michigan)" (when a ball was hit foul)
One of the greatest aspects of Ernie's style was that he was a lover of the game, not so much the home team. He never criticized players or umpires. He simply told his listeners what was happening on the field so that we knew. He was certainly a fan of the Detroit Tigers, but he never let that get in the way of complementing a good play by the other team. He cared about the players and everyone he met (according to those who were around him). He helped out other broadcasters and journalists (even some bloggers as they came into the picture).
Ernie was to receive the Vin Scully Lifetime Achievement Award for broadcasting tomorrow (5/5/10). Al Kaline was going to represent Ernie at the ceremony and now will accept it for him posthumously.
There aren't many broadcaster like Ernie anymore. He was missed when he finally left the booth a couple of years ago. But it will always be his voice I hear when I remember growing up as a Tigers' fan in Michigan.
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