Ernie Harwell

William Earnest "Ernie" Harwell (born January 25, 1918 in Washington, Georgia) is a former 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 balls, strikes, and home runs on radio and television.

Biography

After graduating from Emory University, Ernie Harwell began his career as a copy editor and sportswriter for the Atlanta Constitution and as a regional correspondent for The Sporting News. In 1943, he began announcing games for the Atlanta Crackers of the Southern Association, after which he served four years in the Marines. In 1948, Harwell became the only announcer in baseball history to be traded for a player when the Brooklyn Dodgers' 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 1949, the New York Giants from 1950-53 (including his call of Bobby Thomson's "shot heard 'round the world" in the 1951 National League pennant playoff game on NBC television), and the Baltimore Orioles from 1954-59. Early in his career, he also broadcast football and golf events.

In 1960, Harwell became the "voice" of the Tigers, replacing veteran broadcaster Van Patrick. He was known for his low-key delivery, southern accent, and conversational style, which included:

Pausing periodically to allow the sounds of the ballpark to be heard.
Frequently referring to the location of Tiger Stadium: "the corner of Michigan and Trumbull," or simply "the corner".
Following up foul balls into the crowd with, "That one was caught by a fan from _____," and inserting the name of a nearby town or city. (Unless listeners realized that this was a jocular invention by Harwell, the catch-phrase could leave them wondering how Harwell "knew" where particular fans hailed from.)
After a double play, "It's two for the price of one for the Tigers."
Exclaiming on a called third strike, "He stood there like the house by the side of the road and watched it go by." (This was an allusion to a poem by Sam Walter Foss.)
Also exclaiming on a called third strike, "He's out for excessive window shopping."
Describing a home run, "That ball is looooong gone!"
Using the phrase "And the bases are loaded with Tigers" when Detroit had runners on all bases.
Exclaiming "The Tigers need instant runs" when Detroit had fallen behind by more than two or three runs.
Describing a controversial ball/strike call: "And there's a strike on the outside edge, umpire ___ said so."
Beginning the first spring training broadcast of each season with a reading from Song of Solomon 2:12: "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(dove) is heard in our land."

In a controversial move, Harwell's contract was "non-renewed" by the Tigers and then-flagship station WJR in 1991. Popular outcry and a new team owner in Mike Ilitch led to his reinstatement in 1993. From 1994 to 1998 Harwell called television broadcasts for the Tigers, and in 1999 he resumed full-time radio duties with the team, continuing in that role through 2002. During spring training of that year, Harwell announced that he would retire at the end of the season; his final broadcast came on September 29, 2002.

Nationally, Harwell broadcast two All-Star Games (1958, 1961) and two World Series (1963, 1968) for NBC Radio, numerous American League postseason series for CBS Radio, and the CBS Radio Game of the Week from 1992 to 1997. He also called the 1984 World Series for the Tigers and WJR.

Following his retirement, Harwell came back briefly in 2003 to broadcast a regular-season game for ESPN television and one for Fox Sports Net cable. 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). 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, did an inning of play-by-play on the Tigers' radio flagship WXYT, and guested for an inning on ESPN Radio's broadcast. Harwell also called one inning of Game 1 of the 2006 World Series for WXYT.

Awards and non-broadcast activities

Harwell was honored by the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981 as the fifth broadcaster to receive its Ford C. Frick Award. He was elected to the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 1989, the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame in 1989, and the 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.

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 has also authored several books, and pens 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 appeared as himself in the 1983 Disney film Tiger Town, and made a cameo appearance in the 1994 film Cobb. 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 currently serves as a spokesman for Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Michigan. His contract with the organization, which began in 2003, runs for ten years with an option for another ten. If Harwell fulfills the entire contract (by which time he will be 105 years old), Blue Cross has pledged to extend it for yet another decade.

A devout Christian, Harwell has 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.

Books by Ernie Harwell

(1985). Tuned to Baseball. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 0912083107
(1993). Ernie Harwell's Diamond Gems, edited by Geoff Upward. Ann Arbor, MI: Momentum Books. ISBN 0961872675
(1995). The Babe Signed My Shoe: Baseball As It Was – And Will Always Be, edited by Geoff Upward. South Bend, IN: Diamond Communications. ISBN 0912083727
(2001). Stories from My Life in Baseball. Detroit, MI: Detroit Free Press. ISBN 0937247359
(2002). Ernie Harwell: My 60 Years in Baseball, with Tom Keegan. Chicago, IL: Triumph Books. ISBN 1572434511
(2004). Life After Baseball. Detroit, MI: Detroit Free Press. ISBN 0937247456
(2006). Ernie Harwell's Audio Scrapbook. Grosse Pointe, MI: AudioBook Publishing. ISBN 0979212006

External links

Preceded by Russ Hodges	Ford C. Frick Award 1981	Succeeded by Vin Scully