Sports / Press & broadcasting
George Kell
1922–2009 · baseball player, television announcer
Hall of Fame third baseman who won the 1949 batting title for the Tigers and then spent 37 years as the soft-spoken voice of Tigers broadcasts.
- Born
Swifton, Arkansas- Died
Swifton, Arkansas
aged 86- Birth name
- George Clyde Kell
- Detroit years
- 1946–1952, 1959–1996
- Field
- Sports, Press & broadcasting
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Detroit acquired George Kell from the Philadelphia Athletics in May 1946, trading outfielder Barney McCosky, and he quickly became one of the best third basemen in the league. In 1949 he edged Ted Williams by a fraction of a point for the American League batting title, hitting .343, and he was an All-Star in each of his full seasons with the Tigers before a 1952 trade to Boston. His deeper bond with Detroit came afterward. In 1959 he joined the Tigers' broadcast team, first alongside Ernie Harwell, and for most of the next four decades his gentle Arkansas drawl described games on television, for many years with Al Kaline as his partner. Several generations of Michigan fans grew up hearing him. Kell was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1983 and retired from the booth in 1996, returning home to Swifton, Arkansas.
Highlights
- 1949 American League batting champion (.343), edging Ted Williams
- Played for the Tigers 1946–1952
- Tigers broadcaster for 37 years, from 1959 to 1996
- Longtime TV partner of Al Kaline
- Elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
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.
Played here · 1946–1952, 1959–1996
Tiger Stadium site (Briggs Stadium), now The Corner Ballpark
Demolished · 1912–1999
His home field as a player and his broadcast booth for decades; demolished in 2008–2009.