Memories of Ernie Harwell

Everyone has their favorite Ernie Harwell phrase..."He stood there like a house at the side of the road"..."Long gone"...and "A man from Lake Orion takes that ball home".  Nobody did it better than Ernie Harwell, who we lost Monday evening at the age of 92 after a battle with cancer.

After growing up listening to Ernie and Paul Carey, I had the chance to meet and interview Ernie during one of the Tiger Caravans prior to the 1983 season.  I was a 19 year old college kid, but that didn't matter to Ernie.  We spent probably 15 minutes together, while he made the "experienced" broadcasters wait their turn.  It's an experience I'll never forget.

Over the years I had the privelege to interview Ernie in person and on the telephone about a half-dozen times.  The latest was prior to his appearance in Coldwater November 2001.