Ernie Harwell (1918-2010)

The sports broadcasting industry is morning the death of one of our all-time true greats, and arguably our greatest gentleman.  Ernie Harwell succumbed to cancer at the age of 92.  I don't think I have the words tonight to express exactly how good he was at what he did, or how brilliantly decent of a man he was.  He was among the finest.  The Detroit Free Press described him like this:

He had a strong case as the most beloved figure ever in Michigan.

I'm not sure I disagree.

The "Freep" has a lot of info on the life and legend of Ernie Harwell. I only wish I had known of Mr. Harwell's passing while I was teaching at the Connecticut School of Broadcasting tonight. I would have explained this great man to my class.

This nice video from the Freep includes some play-by-play, and thoughts of others. (The link to the video is on this page)