Ernie Harwell Mourned by the DSBA
Posted on 05-04-2010
'The Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association joins the millions of others who are mourning the death of Ernie Harwell,' said DSBA President WIll Tieman upon hearing the news of the Hall of Fame announcer's death on May 4th in Novi. 'We salute Ernie for all he has done to make sports and baseball in particular, the beloved game that it is. And we thank Ernie for a lifetime of greatness as a human being and as a sports journalist. Our sympathy goes out to his dear wife Lulu, their children, and the entire family.'
Ernie Harwell was born in Washington, Ga., on Jan. 25, 1918. He began his career in radio and television in 1940 and has been broadcasting major league baseball games since 1948. The 2002 baseball season was his 41st broadcasting Detroit Tigers games. Harwell has written numerous books including -- 'Tuned to Baseball,' 'Diamond Gems' and 'The Babe Signed My Shoe' -- and has written a baseball column regularly for the Detroit Free Press since 1991.
Harwell has spent more than half a century broadcasting sports events. His career dates back to 1940 and his major league broadcasting career began in 1948. Harwell worked with the Brooklyn Dodgers, the New York Giants and the Baltimore Orioles, before becoming the voice of the Detroit Tigers in 1960. A graduate of Emory University, Harwell's first on-air experience was as a sports broadcaster for WSB/Atlanta. He also served as a journalist for the Atlanta Constitution and broadcast more play-off games than any other announcer in baseball history. In 1981, Harwell became the first active play-by-play announcer to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, and has also been inducted into the National Sportscaster's Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1998. Harwell was inducted in the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame. He was an Honorary Lifetime Member of the DSBA and its first recipient in December 2009 of the DSBA Ernie Harwell Lifetime Contribution Award.
'We will miss Ernie - as a friend to all and a special person to anyone who met or knew him,' said George Eichorn, DSBA Executive Director. 'We all loved Ernie and we will all miss him dearly.'
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