Posted on 09/04/2009 12:25:02 PM PDT by Mikey_1962
wrote yesterday about broadcasters, but I wish I didn't have to write this one: the legendary Ernie Harwell, voice of the Tigers for 42 years, has incurable cancer.
Harwell is 91. The grace and strength with which he is responding to this news is staggering, but not surprising. I have had the pleasure of knowing Harwell a little bit through the years, and he is one of the finest people I have ever met in baseball. When I wrote a story about broadcasters last year, I was thrilled to receive an e-mail from Harwell telling me he liked the piece.
You might remember that in the early 1990s, then-Tigers president Bo Schembechler (the old Michigan football coach) made the unfortunate decision to force Harwell out of his job calling the Tigers. His replacement with the thankless task of replacing Ernie Harwell was none other than Rick Rizzs. He did it from 1992-94 but was never quite accepted in Detroit. Through it all, however, one of Rizzs's biggest champions was Harwell, and Rick still loves him for it. Harwell returned to Tigers television in 1993 and eventually to the radio, while Rizzs landed back in Seattle in 1995.
Until this illness, Harwell was still going strong in his 90s, writing a column for the Detroit Free Press, exercising daily, and enjoying life with his wife of 68 years, Lulu. That's Ernie and Lulu pictured in a 2002 ceremony honoring Harwell's 55 years in the broadcast business.
(Excerpt) Read more at seattletimes.nwsource.com ...
He is very humble, and thanks Jesus for all his success too.
Prayers.
An absolute legend as a broadcaster, and, by all accounts I’ve ever heard or read, an absolute first-class, gracious gentleman.
May his remaining days be filled with happy memories and celebrations of life and love.
Ernie is the best. Never a homer...always a gentleman who would describe the game in wonderful word pictures. A throwback to the days when broadcasters were reporters first and fans second.
I spent many years listening to Ernie’s broadcasts of Tigers games. Growing up in Detroit you could walk down a tree lined street (Detroit was safe then) and hear Ernie’s voice from countless radios through open screen doors. It seemed everyone listened. Even when the Tigers lost, Ernie, always the reporter would break the game down at the end of his broadcast...his voice cheerful, his faith in the Tigers and God never diminished.
May God go with him.
"he stood there like a house by the side of the road and watched it go by..."
One line I remember in describing a batter that got called out on strikes that he never swung at...”he was guilty of excessive window shopping” Truly one of the greats.
Sad news indeed. But at least he’s leaving us now before ObamaCare would have killed him.
Prayers.
From the Detroit News:
Harwell's life and his ability to remain incredibly active into his 90s have become an example for people across the state through his role as a spokesperson for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. He has long credited his daily workouts, including walking and jumping rope, for helping him work for so long on Tigers' radio broadcasts and defy the conventional limitations of his age well after he left the baseball airwaves.
I am looking for the poem that he read on the air...except, I can't remember the name of it...
Forever Young
“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.”
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.