I dont need to tell the people of Michigan how special Ernie Harwell was. For those who grew up listening to the voice from their cars, lawns, and beds, Ernie Harwell was baseball.
As a youngster growing up on the east coast, I would always put myself to bed listening to out-of-town baseball games. Whether it was the Cardinals on KMOX or the Reds on WLW ,I loved listening to the games. But, there was one guy who intrigued me the most, and that was Ernie Harwell on WJR. The voice with the southern twang came across the static of my AM radio and I was mesmerized. I can remember listening to many games during the magical year of 1968. In fact when the Tigers made the World Series, the local announcers would sometimes get to call an inning on NBC and I got to see what Ernie looked like.
Years later I moved to Detroit and was reunited with listening to Ernie Harwell. I finally got to meet the legend a few years later and I can actually say I always got a thrill when he would greet me with the phrase,”Hello Stoney” . In 1994 Ernie took myself and Rob Parker out for lunch to one of his favorite Greek restaurants in Windsor. It was a lunch I would always cherish. Ernie was a class act both on and off the microphone. He always had time to chat and put a smile on everyone’s face. He handled his illness as one would expect from someone of Ernie’s class. Ernie Harwell might be gone ,but he will live in the souls and hearts of Michiganders forever.
