Yesterday ended up being a sad day for me as I was informed of the news of the passing of Hall of Fame announcer Ernie Harwell. Thank you for those who have already expressed their condolences and who called or emailed to let me know of the sad news. Here's a link to a pretty good story and tribute to Ernie. Though I haven't documented my initial meeting with Ernie in my blog (the whole process took place the year before I started my blog), I did write about our second dinner last summer.How do I convey what Ernie meant to not only me, but literally millions of fans who listened to him over the 40 years he announced Tigers baseball? He was a constant in my childhood and mostly during the best of times; the summer. Whether listening to the radio at home or on TV (sometimes as he mostly did radio), or on the way up to Beaver Island in the car to pass the time while driving, or actually on the Island with my dad's huge radio which could just barely still pick up the broadcast, listening to Ernie's voice was always a calming constant. Even when we moved to Naperville when I was 10, I could still pick up the broadcasts on clear nights and would listen to his voice come across the crackling airwaves before falling asleep.
I've never espoused that any sports figure should be a child's idol and Ernie wasn't mine as a kid. It wasn't until the last five years or so that I actually got to "know" Ernie and what kind of man he was. If there ever was a guy who COULD be a sports figure for children to idolize, Ernie was absolutely that man. A gentleman, a story teller, very polite and a great conversationalist.
Tomorrow I'll write about how I got to know Ernie. Thanks for the memories Mr. Harwell!
2 comments:
I'm sorry for your loss and all those who loved him!
I think it is pretty fantastic that you had the chance to develop a relationship with him.
But as Alexis noted in her post about remembering the WWII events in Holland, nothing is remembered forever.
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