Ernie Harwell

Not all legends are made on the gridiron, hardwood or baseball diamond. Some are made in the broadcasting booth.

Ernie Harwell was born January 25, 1918 in Washington, Georgia. He graduated from Emory University and from there he began his career working as a copy editor and sportswriter for the Atlanta Constitution. Ernie Harwell also was a regional correspondent for one of the top sports publications, The Sporting News.

Ernie Harwell got his first announcing gig for the Atlanta Crackers, which was a minor league baseball team based in Atlanta, Georgia between 1901 and 1965. In 1948, Ernie Harwell became the only announcer in the history over baseball to be traded for a player when Brooklyn Dodgers’ general manager Branch Rickey dealt catcher Cliff Dapper to the Crackers in exchange for breaking Ernie Harwell’s broadcasting contract. Ernie Harwell took over for regular Dodgers’ broadcaster Red Barber, who became hospitalized with a bleeding ulcer.

Ernie Harwell broadcasted for the Dodgers through 1949 and then jumped to the rival New York Giants from 1950 to 1953. Ernie Harwell’s famous call of Bobby Thomson’s “shot heard ‘round the word” during the 1951 National League pennant playoff game is still aired today throughout the country. Ernie Harwell also announced for the Baltimore Orioles from 1954 to 1959.

In 1960, Ernie Harwell became the voice of the Detroit Tigers. It was there in Detroit that he became a legend.

Ernie Harwell replaced longtime Tigers’ play-by-play announcer Van Patrick in 1960. Ernie Harwell was the voice of the Tigers until Tigers’ flagship radio station WJR didn’t renew his contract in 1991. After spending a stint with the California Angels in 1992, public outcry demanded that Ernie Harwell was brought back to Detroit.

Ernie Harwell began calling innings 1-3 and 7-9 of each Tiger game and from 1994 to 1998 he did the Tigers’ television broadcast. In 1999, the Tigers welcomed Ernie Harwell back to the radio booth full-time, until he announced his retirement in 2002.

For his broadcasting career, Ernie Harwell did the play-by-play for two All-Star Games (1958 and 1961) and two World Series (1963 and 1968). Ernie Harwell’s voice could also be heard throughout his career on CBS Radio, ESPN Radio and on WJR when the Tigers went to the 1984 World Series.

Below are some of Ernie Harwell’s most notable calls:

—-“It’s gone! - Ernie Harwell’s recollection of his call of the “Shot Heard ‘Round the World”, the home run by Bobby Thomson that won the NL pennant for the New York Giants on October 3, 1951. The NBC TV broadcast on which Ernie Harwell made the call was not preserved or recorded for posterity.”

—-“Here’s the set by Segui, the pitch…swung on, a drive to left! That’ll be the ball game! It’s over the head of Gosger! McLain wins his thirtieth, here comes Stanley, he’ll score…Willie Horton hits a single and the ball game is over, and the Tigers win it 5-4…Denny McLain is one of the first out of the dugout, racing out, and Horton is mobbed as the Tigers come from behind, and McLain has his thirtieth victory of the 1968 season! - Calling the final out on September 14, 1968. It was the 30th win of the year for Denny McLain, the first such feat for a major league pitcher since Dizzy Dean in 1934.” - Ernie Harwell

—-“This big crowd here ready to break loose. Three men on, two men out. Game tied, 1-1, in the ninth inning. McDaniel checking his sign with Jake Gibbs. The tall right-hander ready to go to work again, and the windup, and the pitch…He swings, a line shot, base hit, right field, the Tigers win it! Here comes Kaline to score and it’s all over! Don Wert singles, the Tigers mob Don, Kaline has scored…The fans are streaming on the field…And the Tigers have won their first pennant since nineteen hundred and forty-five! Let’s listen to the bedlam here at Tiger Stadium! - Calling Don Wert’s game winning single to give the Tigers the American League pennant on September 17, 1968.” - Ernie Harwell

—“Gibson has tied the record of Sandy Koufax, 15 strikeouts in a single World Series game. Trying for number 16 right now against Cash to break the record. He takes his set position, he delivers, here’s the pitch…Swing and a miss, he did it! - Calling St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Bob Gibson’s record-setting 16th strikeout against the Tigers in Game 1 of the 1968 World Series. (Audio) ” - Ernie Harwell

—“Here comes Herndon, he’s got it! And the Tigers are the champions of 1984! - Calling the last out in Game 5 of the 1984 World Series.” - Ernie Harwell

—-“Peña digging in, waiting, here’s the set, the pitch…Swing and a miss! And the Toronto Blue Jays win it, the final game of 2002. The final score: the Blue Jays 1, and the Tigers nothing. - Harwell calling the last out in his final game broadcast on September 29, 2002.” - Ernie Harwell

Ernie Harwell continues to be beloved in the city of Detroit and throughout the world of baseball. He’s a true living legend and one of the best broadcasters in sports history.