If you are a baseball fan of a certain age, it’s likely one of your favorite memories involves listening to games on the radio. If you were lucky, some of those contests were called by the great Ernie Harwell. For more than 30 years, Harwell was the voice of the Detroit Tigers, his Georgia-tinged tones so renowned that in 1981 he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Now 87 and retired, Harwell says the hardest thing he does these days “is lift my feet up when my wife runs the vacuum cleaner.” However, as the following conversation shows, Harwell is still active, with sharp opinions and even sharper memories.
Anthony Cotton: Tell me about your library.
Ernie Harwell: Back in 1965 I gave the Detroit Public Library my collection of baseball materials, beginning from around 1930. It had accumulated and we had five rooms of it, so I gave it to them. I’ve kept donating stuff, and a couple of years ago we gave them everything we had and they dedicated a room. There’s a lot of stuff there. They say it’s all worth around $4 million, but I don’t know if they’re exaggerating slightly.
AC: I think it’s kind of ironic that one of the greatest voices in radio had speech problems as a youngster.
EH: Why did you call me that? Well, I guess it did happen. I was tongue-tied as a youngster. My family didn’t have much money, it was during the Depression, but we found what they called an elocution teacher in those days. Her name was Mrs. Lackland. In those days, all the students in fifth and sixth grade in the public schools had to have speech or debate once a month. With her help and the grace of God, I guess, I overcame the handicap. I tell people that there are still a lot of people who don’t think I overcame it. It’s a matter of opinion.
AC: Why do you think you clicked with baseball, as opposed to another sport, or even another occupation?
EH: I think it’s because my father loved baseball so much; I got my love of baseball from him. I did the other sports. I did a lot of football, even before baseball. I did golf and even bowling on the radio, if you can believe that. But baseball is the best sport for the radio. The announcer makes great use of the listener’s imagination. It’s a conversational sport that lends itself to radio. The announcer goes into their homes and sort of becomes a member of the family. You take him to the beach and the mountains and the kitchen and everywhere.
AC: Don’t you think it should be required that kids listen to baseball on the radio?
EH: It would be nice. I think it’s tougher for a guy to make a reputation now because there’s so many different games done. There’s so many outlets; when I started in Brooklyn in 1948, there were only 16 teams in the major leagues, and we were the only game in town. Now ESPN does four games a night, and you’ve got streams on the computer and satellite radio. It’s hard now for a guy to get established.
AC: Is your favorite World Series memory the Tigers winning in 1968?
EH: I think so; 1968 was a great one. I loved the 1984 World Series too because the team was so dominant all year. I sort of enjoyed the first World Series I did, which was in 1963, when the Dodgers swept the Yankees, which was a rarity in those days. The first World Series is always a big one for an announcer I think, because you’ve never done one before. You’re super-nervous and you just hope you don’t botch it up too much.
AC: One thing about the 1968 Series was the controversy around Jose Feliciano’s version of the national anthem, but I didn’t know you were the one who chose him to sing that day.
EH: Jose was picked by me, and whatever blame there was I had to absorb it. There was a lot of reaction.
AC: You also picked Marvin Gaye for another game that Series, and years later his version at the NBA All-Star Game drew more controversy.
EH: The funny part about that was that the Tigers were a little concerned about Marvin because he was a singer for Motown, and they asked me if I would talk to him and ask him to sing it straight, which I did, and which he did. But Feliciano slipped in on them. It was a big brouhaha; some people thought I would lose my job over it. We’ve remained friends through the years. I introduced him to his second wife.
AC: If you could make one change in today’s game, what would it be?
EH: I’d try to get peace between the players and the owners. They should compromise for the good of the game. On the field, I’d have a uniform strike zone and try to give the pitcher a little advantage, maybe even raise the mound a little bit.
AC: Talking with you, it sounds like you’re ready to fly to Anaheim or Chicago and do the rest of the American League Championship Series.
EH: I don’t know if I could or not. There’s always a time when you have to stop; I didn’t want to hang around too long, where everybody would say, “Why doesn’t that old guy hang it up?” It was time for the new adventure that I’m doing now.
AC: What’s that?
EH: I’m a spokesman for Blue Cross and Blue Shield. We signed a 10-year contract with a 10-year option, so I have to live to be 106. And I’m going to do it or die trying.
Anthony Cotton can be reached at 303-820-1292 or acotton@denverpost.com.
