Ernie Harwell, the voice of the Detroit Tigers for 42 seasons who led a valiant fight to keep Tiger Stadium from a date with the wrecking ball, passed away tonight at the age of 92.
Ernie Harwell, the voice of the Detroit Tigers for 42 seasons who led a valiant fight to keep Tiger Stadium from a date with the wrecking ball, passed away tonight at the age of 92.
He was living in a Novi retirement community with Lulu Harwell, his wife of 68 years. The cause of death: cancer in his bile duct. Harwell had expected his demise; eight months ago he announced to the world the diagnosis and the gloomy prognosis, though he did live six or so months longer than doctors originally predicted.
Harwell was passionate about baseball and his Tigers. Born in rural Georgia, Harwell's family moved to Atlanta when he was five, and those Atlanta years were formative on many levels: he started as a broadcaster for WSB while a student at Emory University, served time during World War II with the Marines, and became broadcaster for the Atlanta Crackers in 1946 once the war ended.
He didn't last long with the Crackers — only three seasons — before the majors came calling. Branch Rickey traded Cliff Dapper to get Harwell (Dapper ended up managing the Crackers) to the Dodgers' broadcast booth, where he lasted through the 1949 season as the #3 man in the broadcast booth. (When he left for the New York Giants in the 1950 season, he was replaced by a young Vin Scully, just out of Fordham.) Harwell then called Giants games through 1953 and Baltimore Orioles games in 1954-1959.
In 1906 Harwell made the move to the Tigers, replacing the legendary Van Patrick as voice of the Tigers. He became closely associated with the franchise through good times and bad, replaced once because ownership thought him too old.
After retirement on his own terms, Harwell turned to the subject of his legacy, fighting to keep the city from tearing down Tiger Stadium. He proposed keeping part of the ballpark intact — the original Navin Field grandstand — to host youth baseball games and house his memorabilia collection. That effort ultimately failed with the sort of shenanigans and back-room deals that typified the previous mayoral administration.
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