Today is a sad day for Detroiters. Ernie Harwell, broadcasting legend and the voice of the Tigers for more than 40 years, has passed away at the age of 92. For anyone who grew up following the Tigers, Harwell's voice was a nostalgic reminder of times gone by, when baseball was an honorable game, when kids bought baseball cards for the bubble gum and a day at the park was just simpler. Besides having an undying devotion to all things Michigan and to the Tigers specifically, Harwell simply exuded class and a soft warm spirit.
My grandmother, who grew up literally right behind Tiger Stadium, was about as die-hard a Detroit sports fan as one could possibly have been. I recall, in vivid detail, going to visit her when she must have been well into her 70s and finding her watching a Red Wings game with the TV on mute and Harwell's voice narrating the action at a Tigers game on WJR. Considering his death now, I don't think I'd be the only son of Detroit who feels there's been a death in the family- an overly-sentimental feeling for a man who brought us back to a time when being sentimental was alright. For so many of us who grew up in Detroit, summer baseball and that voice were simply synonymous and none other will sound quite right.
A sad day for Detroit. A sad day for baseball. Farewell, Harwell.
My grandmother, who grew up literally right behind Tiger Stadium, was about as die-hard a Detroit sports fan as one could possibly have been. I recall, in vivid detail, going to visit her when she must have been well into her 70s and finding her watching a Red Wings game with the TV on mute and Harwell's voice narrating the action at a Tigers game on WJR. Considering his death now, I don't think I'd be the only son of Detroit who feels there's been a death in the family- an overly-sentimental feeling for a man who brought us back to a time when being sentimental was alright. For so many of us who grew up in Detroit, summer baseball and that voice were simply synonymous and none other will sound quite right.
A sad day for Detroit. A sad day for baseball. Farewell, Harwell.
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