Press & broadcasting / Sports
Ernie Harwell
1918–2010 · baseball broadcaster
The voice of the Detroit Tigers for 42 seasons, whose gentle Georgia drawl on WJR radio defined summer for generations of Michiganders.
- Born
Washington, Georgia- Died
Novi, Michigan
aged 92- Birth name
- William Earnest Harwell
- Detroit years
- 1960–2010
- Field
- Press & broadcasting, Sports
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Harwell came to Detroit in 1960 from Baltimore, recommended by his former Orioles player George Kell, and took over Tigers broadcasts on WJR. Because the 50,000-watt station reached much of eastern North America at night, his voice became familiar far beyond Michigan. Listeners loved his phrases: a home run was "long gone", and a batter who took a called third strike "stood there like the house by the side of the road"; a foul ball was caught by "a man from Ypsilanti" or another Michigan town. In 1981 he received the Hall of Fame's Ford C. Frick Award. The Tigers' decision to drop him after 1991 caused a public outcry, and he returned in 1993, retiring in 2002. In 2009, ill with cancer, he said farewell to fans at Comerica Park; after his death in 2010, thousands filed past his casket as he lay in repose at the ballpark.
Highlights
- Called Tigers games for 42 seasons between 1960 and 2002
- Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball Hall of Fame, 1981
- Comerica Park's press box is the Ernie Harwell Media Center
- Life-size bronze statue at Comerica Park
- His memorabilia collection is held by the Detroit Public Library
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 3
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Memorial · 2000–2002, 2010
Comerica Park
He broadcast here in his final seasons, lay in repose here in May 2010, and is honored with a bronze statue and the named press box. The park is due to become Fifth Third Park before 2027.
Worked here · 1960–1999
Tiger Stadium (site)
Demolished · 1912–1999
His broadcast booth for four decades; demolished in 2008–2009.
Memorial · 2004–
Detroit Public Library — Main Library
The library dedicated a room to Ernie and Lulu Harwell in 2004 and holds his large baseball memorabilia collection.