Anyone see Ernie Harwell's speech last night?

[SandraC]

This guy just doesn't get it. Arguably the Michael Jordan of baseball announcing, he is given the chance to stand up and go through his life and tell everyone why they were so wrong about him. He could have given anyone and everyone who didn't automatically say Harwell would be the best announcer of all time an 'I told you so'. He could have made up for all the perceived slights over the years...all who had the nerve to put Red Barber and Mel Allen and Vin Scully in his class...and he didn't.

Harwell gets up and, instead of thanking himself, thanks...everyone else? What kind of speech is that? What's with all the humility?

Where is the fire? Where is the successful person who is never satisfied with success? Surely it took hard work and determination to get Harwell to the top of his field...and into the Hall of Fame...and when he gets a chance to shout that from the mountaintop, he talks about everyone else instead.

Oh well, I guess that's why HE'S Ernie Harwell.


Sandra

 

[GRExpert]

It was amazing to see him. Someone facing immenient death and is at peace with it. He did a great job. He could still broadcast at 91. It will be a sad day when he passes.

 

[SandraC]

Talk about a great speech from a great man...this is Harwell's Hall of Fame induction speech.

Thank you, Ralph Kiner and thank you folks for that warm Cooperstown welcome. This is an award that I will certainly cherish forever. I praise the Lord here today. I know that all my talent and all my ability comes from him, and without him I'm nothing and I thank him for his great blessing. I'd like for you to meet my very best friend and she is my best friend despite the fact that this month we celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary, Lulu Harwell. Lulu, will you stand up please. My son, Bill, right next to her, his wife Diane, their youngsters, my son, Gray, his wife Sandy, and their three youngsters, and my daughters, Julie and Carolyn.

I'm very proud of this award, but I'm even more proud of my family. You know the life and times of Ernie Harwell could be capsuled I think in two famous quotations, one from a left handed, the New York Yankee pitcher and the other one from a right handed English poet. The Yankee pitcher, Lefty Gomez, once said, "I'd rather be lucky than good. " And the poet, Alfred Lord Tennyson, once wrote in his epic poem Ulysses, "I am a part of all that I have met." Well, I know that I'm a lot luckier than I'm good. I've been lucky to broadcast some great events and to broadcast the exploits of some great players.

When I went to Brooklyn in 1948 Jackie Robinson was at the height of his brilliant career. With the Giants I broadcast the debut of Hall of Famer Willie Mays. When I went to Baltimore the great Brooks Robinson came along to replace my good friend George Kell at third base. Kind in my 22 years at Detroit it's been a distinct privilege to watch the day by day consistency of Hall of Famer Al Kaline. Yes, it's lucky that I've been there and I've been at some events too. I want to tell you about one that Ralph mentioned Bobby Thomson's home run October 3rd. I felt a little sorry for my Giant broadcasting partner that day, Russ Hodges. Ole' Russ is going to be stuck on the radio, there were five radio broadcasts and I was gonna' be on coast to coast TV and I thought that I had the plum assignment. Well, as you remember it turned out quite differently. Russ Hodges' record became the most famous sports broadcast of all time, television, no instant replay, no recordings in those days, and only Mrs. Harwell knows that I did the telecast of Bobby Thomson's home run. When I got home that night after the telecast she said to me, she said, ''You know Ernie when they turned the camera on you after that home run I saw you with that stunned look on your face, and the only other time I had ever seen it was when we were married and when the kids were born.”

That other saying, I'm a part of all that I have met, I think that would have to begin with my wonderful parents back in Atlanta when I was a youngster five years old I was tongue tied. They didn't have much money, but they spent what they had sending me to speech teachers to overcome the handicap. I know that a lot of you people who have heard me on the radio probably still think I'm tongue tied, but through the grace of God officially I'm not tongue tied any more. Also I'm a part of the people that I've worked with in baseball that have been so great to me, Mr. Earl Mann of Atlanta, who gave me my first baseball broadcasting job. Mr. Branch Rickey at Brooklyn, Mr. Horace Stoneham of the Giants, Mr. Jerry Hoffberger in Baltimore and my present boss, here's too the greatest ever, Mr. John Fetzer and Mr. Jim Campbell. I'm also a part of the partners that I've worked with and there have been so many great ones, beginning with Red Barber and Connie Desmond at Brooklyn and continuing on to my present partner WJR's Paul Carey.

But most of all, I'm a part of you people out there who have listened to me, because especially you people in Michigan, you Tiger fans, you've given me so much warmth, so much affection and so much love. I know that this is an award that's supposed to be for my contribution to baseball, but let me say this I've given a lot less to baseball than it's given to me and the greatest gift that I received from baseball is the way that the people in the game have responded to me with their warmth and with their friendship. Yes, it's better to be lucky than good and I'm glad that I'm a part of all that I have met. We're all here with a common bond today. I think we're all here because we love baseball.

Back in 1955, Ralph referred to this, I sat down and wrote a little definition of baseball to express my feelings about this greatest game of all. And I know that a lot of things have changed since then. Especially in this strike filled year but my feelings about the game are still the same as they were back then and I think that maybe yours are too. And I'd like to close out my remarks for the next couple of minutes with your indulgence to see if your definition of baseball agrees with mine.

Baseball is the President tossing out the first ball of the season and a scrubby schoolboy playing catch with his dad on a Mississippi farm. A tall, thin old man waving a scorecard from the corner of his dugout. That's baseball. And so is the big, fat guy with a bulbous nose running home one of his (Babe Ruth's) 714 home runs.

There's a man in Mobile who remembers that Honus Wagner hit a triple in Pittsburgh forty-six years ago. That's baseball. So is the scout reporting that a sixteen year old pitcher in Cheyenne is a coming Walter Johnson. Baseball is a spirited race of man against man, reflex against reflex. A game of inches. Every skill is measured. Every heroic, every failing is seen and cheered, or booed. And then becomes a statistic.

In baseball democracy shines its clearest. The only race that matters is the race to the bag. The creed is the rulebook. Color merely something to distinguish one team's uniform from another.

Baseball is a rookie. His experience no bigger than the lump in his throat as he begins fulfillment of his dream. It's a veteran too, a tired old man of thirty-five hoping that those aching muscles can pull him through another sweltering August and September. Nicknames are baseball, names like Zeke and Pie and Kiki and Home Run and Cracker and Dizzy and Dazzy.

Baseball is the cool, clear eyes of Rogers Hornsby. The flashing spikes of Ty Cobb, an over aged pixie named Rabbit Maranville.
Baseball just a came as simple as a ball and bat. Yet, as complex as the American spirit it symbolizes. A sport, a business and sometimes almost even a religion.

Why the fairy tale of Willie Mays making a brilliant World's Series catch. And then dashing off to play stick ball in the street with his teenage pals. That's baseball. So is the husky voice of a doomed Lou Gehrig saying., "I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth.”

Baseball is cigar smoke, hot roasted peanuts, The Sporting News, ladies day, "Down in Front", Take Me Out to the Ball Game, and the Star Spangled Banner.

Baseball is a tongue tied kid from Georgia growing up to be an announcer and praising the Lord for showing him the way to Cooperstown. This is a game for America. Still a game for America, this baseball! Thank you.​

Sandra​

 

[mccoyrj]

Wow. Brought a tear to my eye. Thanks for posting that Sandra. :up

 

[riffjim4069]

Wow. Brought a tear to my eye. Thanks for posting that Sandra. :up

Ditto! A great man should not be defined merely by what he brings to the table, but instead by what he leaves at the table for others. Mr. Harwell has enriched the lives of millions with his unique talent, dedication to the game of baseball, and his genuine concerns for others. He is a true Hall-of-Famer!!!

 

[Jimbo]

This guy just doesn't get it. Arguably the Michael Jordan of baseball announcing, he is given the chance to stand up and go through his life and tell everyone why they were so wrong about him. He could have given anyone and everyone who didn't automatically say Harwell would be the best announcer of all time an 'I told you so'. He could have made up for all the perceived slights over the years...all who had the nerve to put Red Barber and Mel Allen and Vin Scully in his class...and he didn't.

Harwell gets up and, instead of thanking himself, thanks...everyone else? What kind of speech is that? What's with all the humility?

Where is the fire? Where is the successful person who is never satisfied with success? Surely it took hard work and determination to get Harwell to the top of his field...and into the Hall of Fame...and when he gets a chance to shout that from the mountaintop, he talks about everyone else instead.

Oh well, I guess that's why HE'S Ernie Harwell.


Sandra

That's NOT the way Ernie is, he's a very humble guy.
He would but you and me in his class if we let him.

Can't believe your dissing the guy for being humble.

 

[BillD1984]

That's NOT the way Ernie is, he's a very humble guy.
He would but you and me in his class if we let him.

Can't believe your dissing the guy for being humble.

Jimbo,
Sandra was comparing Ernie's speech to Michael Jordan's speech. In other words, she was being facetious.

To see how she really feels about Mr. Harwell, see post #3 in this thread.

 

[Jimbo]

Jimbo,
Sandra was comparing Ernie's speech to Michael Jordan's speech. In other words, she was being facetious.

To see how she really feels about Mr. Harwell, see post #3 in this thread.

Well her post did not depict that, at least from what I read.

As for the post below, I passed over it as she mentioned that it was his HOF speech and that was quite awhile ago.

I will re read it later, very tired at the moment.

Sorry Sandra, if I took your post wrong, I could imagine anyone dissing Ernie if they knew anything about the guy.

I'm really glad the Tiger's did this, too often we lose people and THEN try to show our appreciation, much too late.

 

[BillD1984]

I'm really glad the Tiger's did this, too often we lose people and THEN try to show our appreciation, much too late.

Couldn't agree more!

Long time Bruins play-by-play man Fred Cusick passed away this week..............one day before he was to be inducted into the New England Sports Hall Of Fame.

 

[Davedirectv]

"In baseball democracy shines its clearest. The only race that matters is the race to the bag. The creed is the rulebook. Color merely something to distinguish one team's uniform from another."

this.

 

[riffjim4069]

Well her post did not depict that, at least from what I read.

As for the post below, I passed over it as she mentioned that it was his HOF speech and that was quite awhile ago.

I will re read it later, very tired at the moment.

Sorry Sandra, if I took your post wrong, I could imagine anyone dissing Ernie if they knew anything about the guy.

I'm really glad the Tiger's did this, too often we lose people and THEN try to show our appreciation, much too late.

Come on Jimbo...I got the jist of Sandra's post after a couple sentences, and I've been up since 4:30am. However, I will admit getting a little defensive after reading the first sentence.

 

[Davedirectv]

He's going to be an honor captain at the Lion game this weekend also.

Glad he ended up in Michigan..like the sign I saw at the game, "How a person should be".

 

[SandraC]

That's NOT the way Ernie is, he's a very humble guy.
He would but you and me in his class if we let him.

Can't believe your dissing the guy for being humble.

I think we need a sarcasm smilie or something. If there is one, I missed it. Sorry I misled you.

As Bill said, I was comparing Harwell's speech to the Michael Jordan speech...which is why I added Harwell's Hall of Fame induction speech, so people can compare apples to apples and see the difference between the type of man Michael Jordan is, and the type of man Ernie Harwell is.


Sandra

 

[goreds2]

I saw the speech. What a class act.

 

[Pete K]

When He was inducted into the Georgia Broadcasters Hall of Fame some years ago, Harwell said, " I am like a turtle on a fence post. Why? When you see a turtle on a fence post, you know he didn't get there by himself."