William Earnest "Ernie" Harwell (January 25, 1918 — May 4, 2010) ,
was an American sportscaster, known for his long career calling play-by-play of Major League Baseball games. For 55 years, 42 of them with the Detroit Tigers, Harwell called balls, strikes, and home runs on radio and television. In January 2009, the American Sportscasters Association ranked Harwell 16th on its list of Top 50 Sportscasters of All Time. Ernie Harwell grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, working in his youth as a paperboy for the Atlanta Georgian; one of his customers was writer Margaret Mitchell. He was an avid baseball fan from an early age; he became visiting batboy for the Atlanta Crackers of the Southern Association at the tender age of five and has never had to buy a ticket for a baseball game since then.
In Memory
William Earnest "Ernie" Harwell (January 25, 1918 — May 4, 2010)
Ernie Harwell passed away on the evening of Tuesday, May 4th, 2010, at his home in Novi, Michigan, after nearly a year-long battle with cancer. He died in his apartment in Fox Run Village. His wife Lulu was said to be there at his side. He revealed just 8 months prior to his life long fans he had a cancerous tumor in his bile ducts and was given just a few months to live. Ernie said prior to his death he knew he was dying.
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