God of Thunder

Hall of Fame announcer dead at 92

By JOHN LOWE
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER


Ernie Harwell, the acclaimed Tigers broadcaster whose eloquence and kindness made him a beloved Michigan institution, died Tuesday night after a nearly yearlong bout with cancer. He was 92.

He died in his apartment at Fox Run Village, a retirement center in Novi, with Lulu, his wife of 68 years, at his side. His death came eight months to the day after he revealed to his fans, in an interview with the Free Press, that he had a cancerous tumor in the area of his bile duct and that in late July he had been given only a few months to live.

“I’m ready to face what comes,” he said at the time. “Whether it’s a long time or a short time is all right with me because it’s up to my Lord and savior.”

In the ensuing months, in an emotional farewell ceremony at Comerica Park, in his columns for the Free Press and in interviews with national media, Harwell referred to death as his next great adventure, a gift handed down by God.

“I’ve had so many great ones,” he said. “It’s been a terrific life.”


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I'm not sure how many fans outside of Michigan will know who he was, but he was a legend here.

I'm not even a baseball fan and I am saddened to hear he is gone. To me, he was Tiger baseball.

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I reject your reality, and substitute my own

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omega48038

He was a legend, He WAS baseball in this city. He will be missed.