[tecpatl]

I just heard that Ernie has passed away. I know he was fighting cancer so this sad news is not unexpected, but it still hit me that something irreplaceable has gone away.
When I think of the happy, sunny days of my childhood it will always be Ernie's voice I hear in the background, calling a Tigers game on the radio. That deep, sweet, smart voice...from a deep, sweet and smart man. A class act in sports, something so rare as to be almost unthinkable today.
I'll always remember him doing games with George Kell, two of the best voices in broadcasting.
Godspeed, Ernie. We'll never forget you.

[Perferator]

The young man from Engadine, Michigan will take that one (foul ball) home with him.

[JGatti]

I heard the news about Ernie at work. It made me feel more sad than anyone else I have never met passing. Ernie Harwell will forever be the voice of the Tigers to me. From the time I spent listening him on the radio( I used to turn the volume down on some games and turn him on on the radio) until hearing him interviewed several times over the last few years he has always been a class act and a truly amazing person. What an incredible life he led. I can hear them playing clips on the T.V as I type this and I am fighting back the tears. We'll miss you Ernie. I can only hope to face my final days with such a positive and bright attitude. Lu Lu doesn't have to wait anymore.

[MICoastieMom]

A sad day for baseball, to be sure. Good-bye Ernie, we will miss you.

[YAZ]

An Emory University Hall of Famer....

I was working nights in 1984; listened to Ernie and Paul call the games for most of that great season......

[michmoldman]

I remember sitting with my little transistor radio listening to him in the summer. Ernie and summer always went so well together.

[Bydand]

Not be disrespectful at all because I loved listening to Ernie Harwell call a game.

To use a phrase I always associate with baseball, warm summers, a smooth voice, and good times: Ernie is now "Looooong gone." and it is truly a sad day. Sad for me personally because I'm greedy and just want to hear him call another play -- just a single at bat; sad for baseball overall because it has lost one of the greats of the game.

I would like to think it would be fitting to use one of his favorite sayings to mark his passing. Ernie wasn't shy about admitting that he believed in a higher power and that he believed in an afterlife, so the phrase is fitting. Sad for us, who will never hear him call another bit of ballgame, even one inning; but a positive one for those who believe the same as he did and that he is now "Looong gone!" to a better place. R.I.P. Ernie Harwell, you leave behind a hole that will never be filled in this World.

[JGatti]

Originally Posted by JGatti

I heard the news about Ernie at work. It made me feel more sad than anyone else I have never met passing. Ernie Harwell will forever be the voice of the Tigers to me. From the time I spent listening him on the radio( I used to turn the volume down on some games and turn him on on the radio) until hearing him interviewed several times over the last few years he has always been a class act and a truly amazing person. What an incredible life he led. I can hear them playing clips on the T.V as I type this and I am fighting back the tears. We'll miss you Ernie. I can only hope to face my final days with such a positive and bright attitude.

Little edit here. For some reason I thought I recalled his wife passing a couple years back. But I just read she was at his side when he passed. Sorry about that, I was wrong.

[michmoldman]

I was listening to my local radio station this morning, and the news guy shared a story of when he was younger he wrote Ernie a letter asking something about writing and producing songs because Ernie had been a song writer. Anyways he wrote the letter never expecting an answer, but a week or so later he got a call from Ernie and they talked for about 10 minutes. He said it was amazing because he never included his phone number in the letter. There were many more stories including a former player who said all the while they were traveling or whatever, he never heard Ernie use a swear word...a true class act.

[HighlandsGal]

Ahh.....some of my best memories involve listening to Ernie Harwell call the game while eating popsicles with my dad. He will be missed.