Hall of Fame broadcaster Harwell dies

In this 1993 file photo, Detroit announcer Ernie Harwell pauses during a break in the action during the Tigers’ game at Yankee Stadium in New York.

? Longtime Detroit Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell, beloved by generations of fans who grew up listening to his rich voice, Southern cadence and quirky phrases on the radio, has died after a months-long battle with cancer. He was 92.

Tigers spokesman Brian Britten said the Tigers learned of Harwell’s death from his agent.

Harwell, a Hall of Fame announcer who called Detroit Tigers games for four-plus decades and was acquired by the Brooklyn Dodgers for a catcher, announced in September that he had been diagnosed with inoperable cancer of the bile duct. Then 91, he took the news with characteristic poise, saying he planned to continue working on a book and other projects.

“Whatever happens, I’m ready to face it,” Harwell told the Associated Press on Sept. 4, 2009. “I have a great faith in God and Jesus.”

Shortly after Harwell’s announcement, the Tigers honored him during the third inning of a game against Kansas City, showing a video tribute and giving him a chance to address the crowd at Comerica Park.

“In my almost 92 years on this Earth, the good Lord has blessed me with a great journey,” Harwell said at a microphone behind home plate. “The blessed part of that journey is that it’s going to end here in the great state of Michigan.”

Harwell died Tuesday at his home in Novi, about 30 miles northwest of Detroit, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Harwell spent 42 of his 55 years in broadcasting with the Tigers. He was their play-by-play radio voice from 1960-1991 and 1993-2002.

The team and its flagship radio station, WJR, allowed his contract to expire after the 1991 season in what became a public-relations nightmare. Then-Tigers president Bo Schembechler, the former Michigan football coach, took the blame. WJR general manager Jim Long later took responsibility for the unpopular move.

By his own count, Harwell called more than 8,300 major-league games, starting with the Dodgers and continuing with the Giants and Baltimore Orioles before joining the Tigers.

Journal-World Sports Editor Tom Keegan wrote Harwell’s biography: “Ernie Harwell, My 60 Years in Baseball.”