Ernie Harwell
Ernie Harwell
William Earnest "Ernie" Harwellwas an American sportscaster, known for his long career calling play-by-play of Major League Baseball games. For 55 seasons, 42 of them with the Detroit Tigers, Harwell called the action on radio and/or television. In January 2009, the American Sportscasters Association ranked Harwell 16th on its list of Top 50 Sportscasters of All Time...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionSportscaster
Date of Birth25 January 1918
CityWashington, GA
CountryUnited States of America
Especially in this strike filled year but my feelings about the game are still the same as they were back then and I think that maybe yours are too.
Radio will always be with us because of its great portability. TV can't give you that.
Radio is such a great medium. It makes you use one of the most important things God gave you imagination. The listener can picture what the announcer is telling you.
My bosses said, 'He's a mean, old man. He's not going to talk to a kid like you who's just starting out,' ... But he was very warm, very hospitable. I sat in the living room with him and we talked for about 15 minutes on the air. He filled the whole program, then we sat around and talked a lot more.
McDonough said, referring to the Hall-of-Fame announcer who spent more than four decades as the voice of the Detroit Tigers. ''I thought I'd be with the Red Sox all my career. Really, it's the only play-by-play job I ever wanted.
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.
It's a lot harder for one guy to make a reputation for himself in radio than it used to be because the listener has so many options.
It's easy, inexpensive, everyone can do it and it will lead to better things.
It's a great idea. Now, there's really a way to compare these guys. I enjoy the versatility of the different announcers.
It isn't me that people love. It's baseball.
Everybody we meet has an influence on us and an impact - good or bad. And I think that's why we have to be careful with the way we handle people because what we're doing is making an impact.
What happens with any announcer when he comes into an area, if he stays four or five years and does a fairly decent job, people accept him and he becomes part of the family.
I knew that everybody could be replaced. Nobody lasts forever. And if you work for somebody, he's certainly got the privilege and the right to fire you.
The game's the thing. That's why people tune in. They don't tune in to hear an announcer.