Ernie Harwell was born in Washington, GA in 1918 and is a graduate of Emory University in Atlanta. He began his radio career in 1940, announcing games for the Atlanta Crackers of the Southern Association on WSB radio. In 1948, he made his way to the Major Leagues, announcing for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Harwell went on to announce for the New York Giants, Baltimore Orioles and then settled in Detroit in 1960, where he was the announcer for the Tigers until 2002 (less a year announcing for the Angels in 1992). Harwell is a highlight in Detroit baseball history, his voice forever associated with the Tiger team. He had broadcast more play-off games than any other announcer in baseball history. In 1981, Harwell became the first active play-by-play announcer to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, and has also been inducted into the National Sportscaster’s Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1998. He had also has written several books, including “Tuned to Baseball”, “Diamond Gems” and “The Babe Signed My Shoe”. Harwell regularly wrote a baseball column for the <em>Detroit Free Press</em>. BRC had the fortunate opportunity to sit down with Ernie to capture his perspectives.
Ernie tells his story about how he broke into baseball reporting.
Ernie talks about Babe’s impact on baseball.
Ernie compares the baseball abilities of Barry Bonds and Babe Ruth.