Tuesday, May 04, 2010

Ernie Harwell; a Baseball Titan

Back in the mid-70's when I was 8 or 9 yrs old, the guy my pop hired to paint our house told me how to tune into the AM stations at night and pick up baseball games from far away. It was the gift that kept on giving. Before satellite, cable, Internet, VCR's, remote controls, or even before color TV's became more common place, I was turning the radio dial and one night I heard Ernie Harwell doing a Tigers game. That night I scratched the face of my father's "really good" radio (one of those old cool short wave radios) with my third mark saving the spot I where I heard the game (some where around 760 AM).  Back then as a kid I spent many night changing channels between the Mets and Yankee games with the sound off as I listened to a game on the radio.

I've tried to tune-in Ernie that same way through the 1990's as I did with many teams until cable, Internet and over all access became more common place. In Ernie Harwell you'll find the meaning,- There is Beauty (and Genius) in Simplicity. I remember him for being a pure straight shooter. There was so much baseball to be learned from his simplicity and straight forward approach.  It was a little later in life I learned he also broadcast for the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants and it gave me more reasons to listen to him.  In my opinion Baseball has lost one of it's Titans.

Good Night Mr. Harwell. Thanks for all those summer nights I visited Detroit from my bedroom in Brooklyn.

BTB



2 comments:

  1. That's a great story. He and Jack Buck and Vin Scully and Harry Caray and Mel Allen... legends. All. And then there was one.





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