William Earnest "Ernie" Harwell (January 25, 1918 — May 4, 2010) was an 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. In January 2009, the American Sportscasters Association ranked Harwell 16th on its list of Top 50 Sportscasters of All Time.
Harwell told The Associated Press he knows he'll go through some painful days, but is in good spirits and appreciates the good wishes he's received from hundreds of fans.

"I guess they [listeners] got used to me, good or bad," Harwell said in a telephone interview from his home in suburban Novi. "It's a great honor to be part of the family like that. ... So-called fame is fleeting."

Harwell said he began feeling ill this summer. He had surgery last month for an obstructed bile duct. Doctors found a cancerous tumor and several days ago advised him against further surgery.

"They told us what the situation was," he said. "We trusted their judgment."

Before going out to lunch with his wife and daughter, Harwell said he feels well for now and plans to continue work on a book and other projects.

"As always, Ernie takes the positive side of it," Detroit manager Jim Leyland said before the start of the Tigers game at Tampa Bay on Friday evening.

"We're all thinking of him. We all wish him well."

The Tigers organization said in a statement that Harwell and his family will be "in our thoughts and prayers as he faces a courageous battle against a serious illness."

The team said Harwell "continues to be a big part of Tigers history, and we look forward to him sharing in the 25th anniversary celebration of the 1984 World Series Championship team later this month."

Besides spinning yarns about baseball legends from Ty Cobb to Mark McGwire, Harwell brought a bit of flair to calling the games. "He stood there like the house by the side of the road," he might say of a batter taking a called third strike.


Quotes From Ernie Harwell

"Baseball is a lot like life. It's a day-to-day existence, full of ups and downs. You make the most of your opportunities in baseball as you do in life."

"God blessed me by putting me here for thirty-one years at Michigan and Trumbull. I had (after being "released") the greatest job in the world—a job I loved to do. But most of all, I appreciate you fans. I appreciate your loyalty, your support and your love that you've shown me, especially the love." (September 30, 1991)

"I had a job to do, and I did it all these years to the best of my ability. That's what I'd like to leave behind as I finish my final game in Toronto."

"I'd like to be remembered as someone who showed up for the job. I consider myself a worker. I love what I do. If I had my time over again, I'd probably do it for nothing."

"If I walked back into the booth in the year 2025, I don't think it would have changed much. I think baseball would be played and managed pretty much the same as it is today. It's a great survivor."

"I love the game because it's so simple, yet it can be so complex. There's a lot of layers to it, but they aren't hard to peel back."

"I think I owe thanks to the people who have listened to me over the years, who tuned in on the radio. They have given me a warmth and loyalty that I've never been able to repay. The way they have reached out to me has certainly been the highlight of my life."

"I think once you start as an announcer, you have to decide what kind of approach you're going to have. I decided very early that I was going to be a reporter, that I would not cheer for the team. I don't denigrate people who do it. It's fine. I think you just have to fit whatever kind of personality you have, and I think my nature was to be more down the middle and that's the way I conducted the broadcasts."

"So much happened (in 1968) it was hard to keep up with everything. We had Denny McLain's thirty-one victories, Gates Brown's great pinch-hitting in the clutch, Tom Matchick's home run to beat Baltimore in the ninth inning, then Daryl Patterson striking out the side to beat them in the ninth. Excitement every day in the ballpark."

"The greatest single moment I've ever known in Detroit was Jim Northrup's triple in the seventh game of the World Series in St. Louis. It was a stunning moment because not only were the Tigers winning a world championship that meant so much to an entire city, they were beating the best pitcher I ever saw—Bob Gibson."

"Wheaties was the big sponsor in those days (1940s). They sponsored almost all the baseball games in the majors and the minors. That was a lot of Wheaties. I think there were twenty-four boxes in a case and some of these guys were hitting twenty-five and thirty home runs a season. We had a dog in those days named Blue Grass and the players used to give us their Wheaties for him. Blue Grass loved Wheaties and so did I."




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