Throwback Thursday x Ernie Harwell

MLB is mourning the loss of one of Baseball's giants after receiving news of the death of long time Detroit Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell. With 55 years of broadcasting under his belt and 42 of which with Detroit, Ernie has earned the suitable moniker of 'The Voice of the Tigers'. Most notably remembered for his days in Motown, Harwell also served time announcing for several other Major League teams. The Brooklyn Dodgers (1948-49), New York Giants (1950-53), Baltimore Orioles (1954-59), Detroit Tigers (1960-91, 1993-2002) and the California Angles (1992). Harwell's broadcasting career began in the Minor Leagues with one of the leagues most successful franchises, the Atlanta Crackers.

Harwell's transition from the Minor League to the Major League came in the most intriguing of ways, when GM Branch Rickey of the Brooklyn Dodgers traded a minor league catcher to get him in 1948. A trade that to this day is yet to have been matched, as Harwell remains the only MLB broadcaster acquired in a trade for a player 62 years later. Harwell also called the TV broadcast for one of if not the most famous calls in not only baseball history but in all of sports -- Bobby Thomson's 'Shot Heard 'Round the World' in 1951. But with a large cast of broadcasters calling the game, Harwell's call would be overlooked and left in the shadows as Russ Hodges' call would earn the most notoriety.

Harwell was named Michigan Sportscaster of the Year 19 times and was inducted into its Hall of Fame in 1989. Harwell is also a proud member of numerous Hall of Fame's including the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame, The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame and the Radio Hall of Fame. The Baseball Hall of Fame honored Harwell in 1981 as he became the fifth broadcaster to receive its Ford C. Frick Award. An award that is given to a broadcaster for their major contributions in baseball. Harwell was also set to receive the Vin Scully Lifetime Achievement Award in Sports Broadcasting in New York City, just one day after his passing.

Comerica Park held an open casket ceremony for Harwell and allowed fans to pass his casket in a public viewing held, as some 10,000 fans showed up to pay their respects to the late broadcaster. Already a proud owner of a statue of himself outside the stadium, a flag with Harwell's initials is expected to be raised at the Tigers home field of Comerica Park, prior to Monday's game against the Yankees.

R.I.P William Earnest Harwell
January 25, 1918 - May 4, 2010