Ernie Harwell: My 60 Years in Baseball (Honoring a Detroit Legend) [Hardcover]

Tom Keegan (Author), Brooks Robinson (Afterword), Al Kaline (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2002 | Series: Honoring a Detroit Legend

Is Ernie Harwell one of the most beloved figures in baseball? In 1991 when the Detroit Tigers decided not to renew his contract, various Domino's Pizza locations (also owned by the Tigers owner) received bomb threats. 72-year old Harwell had been the voice of the Tigers for over thirty years. Public outcry led the Tigers to rehire him. Harwell, a Hall of Fame broadcaster, was at the mike for Bobby Thompson's Shot Heard 'Round the World, Jackie Robinson's second year with the Dodgers, and the Tigers' World Championships of 1968 and 1984. And he's the only broadcaster traded for a player!

Harwell's life is more than just baseball. He interviewed golfing great Bobby Jones, and heavyweight champ Jack Dempsey. Gone With The Wind author Margaret Mitchell's former paperboy, Harwell assisted Life magazine in its coverage of the film premier. This memoir, like its subject, is unique and unforgettable.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Many listeners know Ernie Harwell, the longtime Hall of Fame radio announcer for the Detroit Tigers, as one of the smoothest and wisest voices in baseball. Oddly enough, in 1991 Tiger management unceremoniously decided not to renew Harwell's contract. After great fan protest, this decision was ultimately overturned. Find out what the fuss is about in this easy-to-read tale, which should be purchased by all libraries serving Tiger fans and indeed by serious baseball collections nationwide.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Harwell has been the voice of the Detroit Tigers baseball team for more than 40 years. In 1991, the team's new owners--also owners of a nationwide pizza chain--decided to replace him. Pizza joints in Michigan started receiving bomb threats. Harwell was back behind the microphone the next season and is still going strong. This biography by New York Post columnist Keegan traces Harwell's life from childhood (growing up in Atlanta, he delivered Margaret Mitchell's newspaper) through his glory years with the Tigers. Testimonials from virtually every baseball star of the last half-century as well as anecdotes featuring such sports luminaries as golfer Bobby Jones and boxer Jack Dempsey spice the account nicely. There is plenty of Harwell's voice here, too, as well as that of his no-nonsense wife, Lulu. Harwell is a baseball institution and remains one of the game's most beloved ambassadors. Expect considerable interest in his story, especially among older fans, who will revel in the announcer's behind-the-scenes memories of the strong Tiger teams of the 1960s. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Triumph Books; 1st ed edition (April 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572434511
• ISBN-13: 978-1572434516
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,058,254 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #51 in Books > Travel > United States > States > Michigan

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A home run, May 8, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Ernie Harwell: My 60 Years in Baseball (Honoring a Detroit Legend) (Hardcover)

As a young boy growing up in a Detroit suburb, I often fell asleep at night with a transistor radio and an earphone, listening to Ernie Harwell and George Kell broadcasting Tigers' games. I've been a fan since. This book brought back a lot of those memories. It was well written and a fitting tribute to a man who has meant so much to the game. Well done.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Voice of Baseball, June 1, 2002

By 

Jason A. Miller (New York, New York USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ernie Harwell: My 60 Years in Baseball (Honoring a Detroit Legend) (Hardcover)

Ernie Harwell popped up in a lot of unexpected places in the year 2001. On October 3rd, he broadcast the official recreation of the 1951 Miracle at Coogan's Bluff game for Major League Baseball's official website; later on, he broadcast the final game of a World Series for an all-time-greats fantasy league also run by MLB. Not bad, for a man who was fired by his longtime Detroit Tigers employees over a decade ago for being "too old".

"My 60 Years in Baseball" has a very unusual title for an autobiography. That's because it's not an autobiography -- it's a standard bio, written by columnist Tom Keegan. Presumably this was done with Ernie Harwell's full cooperation, and reprints of several Harwell newspaper columns highlight the book. I'm just a little confused by the use of the word "My".

I know Tom Keegan's columns from the New York Post, and "My 60 Years" reads very much like a 275-page human interest story. It's a puff piece, but in the best way possible. Keegan tracks down interviews with athletes, writers and friends who have known Harwell at various points along his 60-plus-year career, and the stories related are mostly heart-warming. The best chapter in the book is an interview with Denny McLain, one-time Tiger pitching ace, from his cell in federal prison. Even repeat convicts love the voice of Ernie Harwell.

Don't read "Ernie Harwell" because it's the best sports bio of all time, but read it to become more familiar with one of the last of the original (and now "old school") announcers. I listened to Ernie for the brief time I lived in the Detroit metro area, and I'm glad I had the chance. It's a specific style of broadcast, heavy on imagery and game detail, that's no longer in vogue and will be dearly missed when the last of its practictioners hangs up their microphones. Read the stories Keegan finds, and read again the reprinted Harwell columns, which are a delight of word choice, firm opinion, and humor.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Little Light of Mine, April 20, 2002

By 

C. W. Emblom "Bill Emblom" (Ishpeming, Michigan USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ernie Harwell: My 60 Years in Baseball (Honoring a Detroit Legend) (Hardcover)

Ernie Harwell's broadcasting career has covered an incredible amount of baseball history dating back to the days of Red Barber with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Bobby Thompson's home run on 10/3/'51, the birth of the Baltimore Orioles, and over four decades with the Detroit Tigers. Harwell came to the Tigers in 1960 as a replacement for Van Patrick who I grew up listening to as a Tigers' announcer. Author Tom Keegan begins the book with the controversial firing of Harwell and who was to blame for the fiasco. However, as Ernie says, "It doesn't matter. All that matters is everyone is forgiven." That comment is typical of the Christian Harwell. Ernie has the gift of making anyone he talks to feel as though they are important and his feelings are genuine. As Ernie says, God has blessed him with good health, and he has done what he can to take care of himself physically to show that age can be just a number. Ernie Harwell is not only a great ambassador for baseball, but also for everyone in how to treat their fellow human beings. The book is easy reading and is of value to those interested in baseball history and to those who want to meet a man we all can learn from regarding human relations.