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grumpyolddude · 09-04-2009, 01:43 PM

This news hit me hard.

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Hall of Famer Harwell has cancer
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ESPN.com news services

Ernie Harwell, the 91-year-old Hall of Fame broadcaster for the Detroit Tigers, said Friday that he has inoperable cancer.

Harwell, who was in the Tigers' broadcast booth from 1960 until he retired in 2002, remains upbeat after a tumor was found in the area of the bile duct.

"We don't know how long this lasts," Harwell said, according to the Detroit Free Press, which first reported Harwell's illness. "It could be a year, it could be much less than a year, much less than half a year. Who knows? Whatever's in store, I'm ready for a new adventure. That's the way I look at it."

Harwell told The Associated Press he knows he may go through some painful days, but is in good spirits and appreciates the good wishes he's received from hundreds of fans.

Harwell, who spent 42 of his 55 years as a broadcaster calling Tigers games, said he has been "flattered" to hear so many people tell him about the role his voice played in their lives.

"It's a great honor to be part of the family like that," Harwell said. "It was fun. You love these things. You can't take them too seriously. ... So-called fame is fleeting."

Harwell spent about a week in the hospital last month with an obstructed bile duct, and tests revealed the tumor. Harwell, his family and doctors have decided against surgery or other treatment.

"They told us what the situation was," he said. "We trusted their judgment."

Besides spinning yarns about baseball legends from Ty Cobb to Mark McGwire, Harwell brought a bit of flair to calling the games. "He stood there like the house by the side of the road," he might say of a batter taking a called third strike.

Foul balls into the stands were always, "Caught by a man from [whatever small town came to mind]." A home run was, "Long gone!"

Harwell laughed about women who told him they fell asleep to his voice, saying it showed the his ability to "cure insomnia."

"Yeah, they went to sleep with me, but they woke up with J.P. McCarthy," a longtime WJR-AM morning host, Harwell said.

Since retiring in 2002, Harwell has had three books published by the Free Press; released an audio scrapbook of his interviews and broadcast moments; and worked as a health and fitness advocate for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.

According to the Free Press, he plans to record two more commercials for Blue Cross Blue Shield next week before retiring from that job. He also plans to complete a fourth book of his Free Press columns, the last of which is scheduled to appear at the end of the month.

Harwell told the newspaper he feels good but has been forced to cut back on his daily exercise routine.

"I don't have any pain at the moment," he said, according to the report. "Because I've lost weight, I can eat almost everything I wanted to. I've come back to my childhood with ice cream and all those good things."

Speaking about his fans, he told the Free Press: "I'd like to thank them for their loyalty and support over the years. And their affection, which I don't know whether I deserve or not, but I accept it."

Harwell was born Jan. 25, 1918, in Washington, Ga., and began his broadcasting career in 1940 as a sports commentator for WSB radio in Atlanta. After serving in the Marine Corps in 1942-46, Harwell was the minor league Atlanta Crackers' radio voice in 1946-48 and went to the Brooklyn Dodgers after the team's radio broadcaster, Red Barber, fell ill in 1948.

As much as anything, the outpouring of support following news of his illness is a sign of the magic that radio sports still has for so many people, Harwell said.

"I think this response is an example of the impact of baseball and of the Tigers," he said, adding whatever talent he may have, "God put me here."

"Whatever happens, I'm ready to face it," he said. "I have a great faith in God and Jesus."

Harwell was honored by the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981 and the Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame in 1989.

Ernie Harwell, baseball broadcasting Hall of Famer, announces he has inoperable cancer - ESPN
This man's was the voice of my spring and summer for more than 40 years. I grew to love the game of baseball sitting in the kitchen with my mother, listening to Detroit Tiger broadcasts. Ernie brought the game to life with his colorfully descriptive narratives. He would regale us with baseball lore, both amusing and thought provoking.

Somewhere in mother's things, we have a cassette of him wishing her and my father well on their 50th anniversary during a broadcast. It's nearly impossible to relate the affection I hold for this man. He has been much more than a voice on the radio to me and my family.

Every spring, before the Tigers' first exhibition game, Ernie would recite this passage from the Song of Solomon:

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For, lo, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone;
The flowers appear on the earth;
The time of the singing of birds is come,
And the voice of the turtle is heard in our land.

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For 55 years, Ernie Harwell has opened the baseball season with these words of spring's rebirth. Harwell, who retired at the end of the 2002 season, was baseball's longest enduring broadcaster and one of the game's favorite sons. "He is loved by everybody and rightfully so. He's a great broadcaster but even better a person," said former Tiger catcher Bill Freehan.

Harwell began his career working for WSB in Atlanta in 1940 calling the games of the Atlanta Crackers of the Southern League. In 1948, Harwell landed the Brooklyn Dodgers job before stints in New York and Baltimore. In 1960, he took over the Detroit Tigers booth, and would spend the next 42 years as the voice of the Tigers. Harwell was mysteriously fired in 1992, but fan outrage had him back in the booth the next season.

His unmistakeable voice, simple style, and fast-paced play-by-play earned him a spot in the Hall of Fame in 1981. He was the first active announcer to be inducted. Harwell made the television call of Bobby Thompson's famous "Shot heard round the world," and was actually once traded for a backup catcher. After 55 years in the booth, there is nothing Harwell has not seen.

Ernie Harwell
1948-1949 Brooklyn Dodgers
1950-1953 New York Giants
1954-1959 Baltimore Orioles
1960-1991 Detroit Tigers
1992-1993 California Angels
1993-2002 Detroit Tigers
Hall of Fame 1981

Voices of the Game - Ernie Harwell

I did meet him once, when I was very young. He wasn't physically impressive, but, man, what charisma! I wish him, and his family, all good things.