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This year, for
the first time, the program is being co-sponsored by Blue
Cross/Blue Shield of Michigan. Harwell is a spokesperson for
BC/BS.
About 700
people showed up to participate in a three-quarter mile walk
around the Capitol, with Harwell among those leading the way. He
spoke to the crowd, which included several hundred school
children, from the Capitol steps prior to the walk.
“A long time
ago I started walking when my wife Lulu said, ‘Go take a hike,’”
Harwell said. “So that’s what I’ve done for a long, long time,
and it works. Walking is inexpensive. All you need is a good
pair of shoes.
“You can have a
companion walk with you and build a great comradeship. It’s the
kind of thing that’s going to help you because you’re going to
lose pounds and be a lot healthier.” (See Harwell’s speech on
YouTube by searching for “Ernie Harwell at Capitol.”)
Harwell is
certainly a wonderful advocate for exercise. I was amazed how
strong and fit he looks for his age. Oh, did I mention that
Ernie turned 90 this past Jan. 25?
I went to the
Capitol hoping to get close enough to capture a good photo of
Ernie. After all he truly is a hero of mine. I listened to him
calling Tigers games on the radio from the time I was 10 years
old.
To me, and to
thousands of baseball fans across Michigan, Ernie truly is the
voice of baseball, and of summer. When Ernie was at the
microphone, life was good.
When I arrived
on the Capitol lawn about an hour before the walk began, Ernie
was signing autographs and chatting with some fans. As soon as I
got close enough to hear Ernie’s low-key, southern accent, I
felt memories of my childhood stirring inside of me.
As a huge Tiger
fan for nearly four decades, I would estimate I’ve heard Ernie
broadcast well over 3,000 games in my lifetime.
I asked a
stranger to take a photo of me with Ernie. Both the stranger and
Ernie obliged and I had a cool souvenir to last me for rest of
my life.
But then
something even better happened. I started chatting with Ernie,
and suddenly he and I were engaged in a genuine conversation.
Imagine that — just little old me and the Hall-of-Fame voice of
the Detroit Tigers chatting about baseball. … It was so cool.
Even better, I
had my digital recorder with me, so I recorded most of our
conversation. I now have the golden tones of the great Ernie
Harwell on record … talking to me!
I asked Ernie
about some of his favorite interviews. He said he most cherishes
the interviews he conducted with Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio,
Babe Ruth, Connie Mack and Ty Cobb, because they were some of
the true greats in baseball history.
“Ty Cobb, I
(interviewed) in 1941 in his hometown of Royston, Ga., which is
about 100 miles from Atlanta,” Ernie recalled. “He was very warm
and friendly to me; very nice. We talked about the old baseball
guys, how he played and things like that. I was working for WSB
in Atlanta, the NBC station. I was a sports announcer.”
My next
question for Ernie was: “What was your most memorable
broadcast?” His answer came without a bit of hesitation.
“Oct. 3, 1951;
Bobby Thompson’s home run at the Polo Grounds to beat the
Dodgers. I was on TV. Russ Hodges was on the radio. I did the TV
on NBC. There’s no record of that at all. They didn’t have any
replays or anything like that in those days.”
“Do you
remember how you called it?” I asked.
Ernie replied:
“I just said ‘It’s gone,’ and then let the camera take over.
Andy Pafko, the Brooklyn leftfielder, was back up against the
seats and the ball disappeared over his glove in the front row.
It wasn’t any big blast but it got there.”
I told Ernie it
was a thrill to talk with him.
“Good luck to
you — it’s good to see you,” Ernie told me.
Our conversion
lasted just over two minutes, but it’s one I will never forget.
Ernie Harwell has always been a class act, and I was privileged
to share a few moments of his time.
Larry Hook is a graduate of Lansing Community College and Michigan State
University, with a degree in journalism. He has been adviser of
The Lookout since the summer of 2004. |
Legendary Detroit Tigers'
broadcaster Ernie Harwell meets with Chris Holman, publisher
of The Greater Lansing Business Monthly magazine, in front
of the State Capitol Thursday, May 22.