R.I.P. Ernie Harwell

[Paul]

Baseball lost a true gentleman and ambassador for their sport today.

[Screw_Michigan]

He's like a house standing by the side of the road. RACK Ernie from a White Sox/Nats fan who grew up listening to him, before and after that cocksucking faggot Bo Schembechler ran him out of town.

[Shoalzie]

I didn't get to experience his career as long as other baseball fans but he'll always be the voice of Tigers baseball. His delivery was second to none and so was his storytelling. It's tragic that he lost his battle with cancer but he lived an amazing life but he was a part of so many memories for so many fans...that is worth celebrating. Thank you, Mr. Harwell!

RIP

[WolverineSteve]

How do you say goodbye to the voice that introduced generations to the great game of baseball? What words can be said to describe the impact one man had on countless summer nights? The picture was painted for me even before I entered the cathedral that was Tiger Stadium. "He stood there like the house by the side of the road", "a youngster from Manistee caught that one", "he kicks and deals", "it's LONG GONE!!", and other Ernieisms will live on through all who heard them forever. Ernie lived and died with class and grace that is becoming more rare all the time. As I get older and the icons of my youth disappear one by one they leave behind a void that can never be filled. I am lucky to have had Ernie Harwell's voice fill my head for so much of my life. I am a better baseball fan for having spent so many hours listening and learning from one of the all-time greats and the world is a better place for having been blessed by his existence.

Rest in Peace Ernie.

[Goober McTuber]

How do you say goodbye to the voice that introduced generations to the great game of baseball? What words can be said to describe the impact one man had on countless summer nights? The picture was painted for me even before I entered the cathedral that was Tiger Stadium. "He stood there like the house by the side of the road", "a youngster from Manistee caught that one", "he kicks and deals", "it's LONG GONE!!", and other Ernieisms will live on through all who heard them forever. Ernie lived and died with class and grace that is becoming more rare all the time. As I get older and the icons of my youth disappear one by one they leave behind a void that can never be filled. I am lucky to have had Ernie Harwell's voice fill my head for so much of my life. I am a better baseball fan for having spent so many hours listening and learning from one of the all-time greats and the world is a better place for having been blessed by his existence.

Rest in Peace Ernie.

And yet you sport as your avatar the man who Screwball claims runned poor Ernie. A puzzlement.

[Screw_Michigan]

And yet you sport as your avatar the man who Screwball claims runned poor Ernie. A puzzlement.

Claims? It's a fact, like how your fat ass has its own gravitational pull.

[Shoalzie]

And yet you sport as your avatar the man who Screwball claims runned poor Ernie. A puzzlement.

Claims? It's a fact, like how your fat ass has its own gravitational pull.

There seems to be different ones at fault over that incident...Bo, Tom Monaghan, the radio station...bottom line, it never should've happened.

[Goober McTuber]

And yet you sport as your avatar the man who Screwball claims runned poor Ernie. A puzzlement.

Claims? It's a fact, like how your fat ass has its own gravitational pull.

Just because you’re attracted doesn’t make it gravitational.

[Screw_Michigan]

There seems to be different ones at fault over that incident...Bo, Tom Monaghan, the radio station...bottom line, it never should've happened.

The buck stops with Bo and Tom Monaghan. Especially Bo. See: Frieder, Bill, 1989.

[Screw_Michigan]

In memory of the passing of beloved Detroit Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell, it’s only fitting to visit back to one of the darkest sports periods in Michigan history and recap a story where two God-like figures unfortunately collided for no good reason at all.

In 1991 Michigan, there were no more beloved figures in sports than Harwell and former University of Michigan football coach Bo Schembechler (Pistons coach Chuck Daly would be up there, but let's save that for another day). Harwell had been calling Tiger games for 30 years. The Georgia native with the legendary Southern voice helped generations of kids and adults through great times (1968, 1984, 1987) and many, many (and I mean many) bad times. His warm, smooth, pedestrian cadence and conversational style helped many Michiganders fall in love with baseball (even if it wasn't with the Tigers, as in my case). Harwell was as close to a deity in Michigan as possible.

Schembechler, on the other hand, was well known for three things: Getting his a*s kicked in Rose Bowls (2-8 overall), having a Josef Stalin-esq Cult of Personality and having d*ck-measuring contests at every conceivable opportunity (see: Frieder, Bill, 1989). By beating the piss out of the Indianas, Illinois, Northwesterns and Minnesotas of the Big Ten, Bo was able to build enough clout to convince grown men to sacrifice their first born sons on his altar for the privilege of playing on the gridiron at Michigan Stadium. Despite going 5-12 in bowl games and 2-8 in the Rose Bowl, the only man as powerful in the state as Harwell was Bo.

Little did anyone know after retiring as U-M football coach after the 1989 season that Bo and Harwell would soon be on a collision course for Bo's final d*ck-measuring contest.

For some god forsaken reason beyond the comprehension any rational thinking person, Ann Arbor native, Domino's Pizza magnate and Tigers owner Tom Monaghan decided it would be a great idea to hire a football coach to run a multi-million dollar baseball club as Monaghan tabbed Schembechler to be president of the Tigers in 1990. Driven by his Cult of Personality, like any good dictator hell bent on remaining in power at any cost, Schembechler immediately decided to eliminate anyone who had the cache to challenge his authority, even if that perception was illogical. Bo quickly realized the only person in the Tigers organization as powerful as him was Harwell, so Bo did what only comes natural to crackpot despots like himself and Idi Amin:

He fired Ernie.

When it came down to it, this was another typical, modern-day power struggle. Many variations of this story have developed over the years. A WJR executive came out years later and said he was responsible for not renewing Harwell's contract, but this was nothing more than a career-saving falling-on-the-sword for Bo as the executive knew that maintaining the truth and dignity (not being the one who called for Harwell's ouster) was not worth losing a battle against an infallible public figure like Schembechler. Some have also blamed Monaghan, but as former President Harry Truman said "the buck stops here," and the buck stopped with Bo.

Like your typical Miami University graduate, Bo's idiocy prevented him from foreseeing the consequences of his decisions. Michigan natives were up in arms, screaming "We Want Ernie!" at Red Wing games, boycotting Domino's Pizza (for some other reason than the product being crappy), and deluging WJR and the corner of Michigan and Trumbull with angry letters and phone calls. Tigers fans called Bo one of the most heartless individuals in sports (the irony of this is overwhelming). At first, both the Tigers (led by Bo) and WJR blamed each other, but Bo held the axe and brought it down on Harwell.

If he wasn't such a class act, Harwell could have energized his populace to have Schembechler lynched in Campus Martius Park downtown, but due to his grace, Harwell instead took a part-time gig calling California Angels games in 1992.

Fortunately for Tigers fans, and baseball fans all over the Midwest, Monaghan sold the team to Detroit pizza rival Mike Illitch in 1992 and Schembechler mercifully stepped down as team president, following one of the darkest eras in franchise history. Harwell would return to the Tiger booth part-time in 1993 before rotating between calling TV games and radio games in various employment terms until the 2003 season.

After stepping down as Tigers president, Bo went on to rule the U-M football program with an iron fist, preventing it from ever evolving philosophically on a national stage and continuing to oversee the Wolverines getting their asses kicked by national powers in bowl games (except for 1997).

At first, Bo thought he won yet another d*ck-measuring contest, but in the end, it was Harwell who got over. Harwell went on to live to be 92 years old and call over 8,000 Tiger games in his career, maintaining his status as a God amongst mere Michigan mortals.

Bo went on to constrain a football program in philosophy and execution (hiring boozers who couldn't hold their alcohol in public: Gary Moeller, and a grandpa who couldn't adjust for an opposing mobile quarterback if his life depended on it: LLLLLLloyd Carr) for over 14 years before dropping dead of a massive heart attack in 2006 after getting too worked up over some stupid f*cking football game.

Schembechler was known for a saying: "Those who stay will be champions." Harwell was the one who stayed.

[Goober McTuber]

Amazing. Simply amazing. Who would believe that Michigan could be home to not one, but two of the shittiest pizza franchises in history.

[Screw_Michigan]

I wrote it.

[WolverineSteve]

In memory of the passing of beloved Detroit Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell, it’s only fitting to visit back to one of the darkest sports periods in Michigan history and recap a story where two God-like figures unfortunately collided for no good reason at all.

In 1991 Michigan, there were no more beloved figures in sports than Harwell and former University of Michigan football coach Bo Schembechler (Pistons coach Chuck Daly would be up there, but let's save that for another day). Harwell had been calling Tiger games for 30 years. The Georgia native with the legendary Southern voice helped generations of kids and adults through great times (1968, 1984, 1987) and many, many (and I mean many) bad times. His warm, smooth, pedestrian cadence and conversational style helped many Michiganders fall in love with baseball (even if it wasn't with the Tigers, as in my case). Harwell was as close to a deity in Michigan as possible.

Schembechler, on the other hand, was well known for three things: Getting his a*s kicked in Rose Bowls (2-8 overall), having a Josef Stalin-esq Cult of Personality and having d*ck-measuring contests at every conceivable opportunity (see: Frieder, Bill, 1989). By beating the piss out of the Indianas, Illinois, Northwesterns and Minnesotas of the Big Ten, Bo was able to build enough clout to convince grown men to sacrifice their first born sons on his altar for the privilege of playing on the gridiron at Michigan Stadium. Despite going 5-12 in bowl games and 2-8 in the Rose Bowl, the only man as powerful in the state as Harwell was Bo.

Little did anyone know after retiring as U-M football coach after the 1989 season that Bo and Harwell would soon be on a collision course for Bo's final d*ck-measuring contest.

For some god forsaken reason beyond the comprehension any rational thinking person, Ann Arbor native, Domino's Pizza magnate and Tigers owner Tom Monaghan decided it would be a great idea to hire a football coach to run a multi-million dollar baseball club as Monaghan tabbed Schembechler to be president of the Tigers in 1990. Driven by his Cult of Personality, like any good dictator hell bent on remaining in power at any cost, Schembechler immediately decided to eliminate anyone who had the cache to challenge his authority, even if that perception was illogical. Bo quickly realized the only person in the Tigers organization as powerful as him was Harwell, so Bo did what only comes natural to crackpot despots like himself and Idi Amin:

He fired Ernie.

When it came down to it, this was another typical, modern-day power struggle. Many variations of this story have developed over the years. A WJR executive came out years later and said he was responsible for not renewing Harwell's contract, but this was nothing more than a career-saving falling-on-the-sword for Bo as the executive knew that maintaining the truth and dignity (not being the one who called for Harwell's ouster) was not worth losing a battle against an infallible public figure like Schembechler. Some have also blamed Monaghan, but as former President Harry Truman said "the buck stops here," and the buck stopped with Bo.

Like your typical Miami University graduate, Bo's idiocy prevented him from foreseeing the consequences of his decisions. Michigan natives were up in arms, screaming "We Want Ernie!" at Red Wing games, boycotting Domino's Pizza (for some other reason than the product being crappy), and deluging WJR and the corner of Michigan and Trumbull with angry letters and phone calls. Tigers fans called Bo one of the most heartless individuals in sports (the irony of this is overwhelming). At first, both the Tigers (led by Bo) and WJR blamed each other, but Bo held the axe and brought it down on Harwell.

If he wasn't such a class act, Harwell could have energized his populace to have Schembechler lynched in Campus Martius Park downtown, but due to his grace, Harwell instead took a part-time gig calling California Angels games in 1992.

Fortunately for Tigers fans, and baseball fans all over the Midwest, Monaghan sold the team to Detroit pizza rival Mike Illitch in 1992 and Schembechler mercifully stepped down as team president, following one of the darkest eras in franchise history. Harwell would return to the Tiger booth part-time in 1993 before rotating between calling TV games and radio games in various employment terms until the 2003 season.

After stepping down as Tigers president, Bo went on to rule the U-M football program with an iron fist, preventing it from ever evolving philosophically on a national stage and continuing to oversee the Wolverines getting their asses kicked by national powers in bowl games (except for 1997).

At first, Bo thought he won yet another d*ck-measuring contest, but in the end, it was Harwell who got over. Harwell went on to live to be 92 years old and call over 8,000 Tiger games in his career, maintaining his status as a God amongst mere Michigan mortals.

Bo went on to constrain a football program in philosophy and execution (hiring boozers who couldn't hold their alcohol in public: Gary Moeller, and a grandpa who couldn't adjust for an opposing mobile quarterback if his life depended on it: LLLLLLloyd Carr) for over 14 years before dropping dead of a massive heart attack in 2006 after getting too worked up over some stupid f*cking football game.

Schembechler was known for a saying: "Those who stay will be champions." Harwell was the one who stayed.

I get it, you hate Bo and any and all things Michigan. I don't think a RIP thread is a place to spew your venom.

Stay classy.

[M Club]

jesus, maybe you should go outside and smell a flower or something. ernie harwell let loose about zero bitterness over this and you page me via pm to read your faux-journalistic hit piece that mischaracterizes bo every time you mention his name. i didn't realize beating the teams you're coaching against constituted a dick-measuring contest, or that it's a cult of personality that dictates you fire the guy who took a job at another school before the season was even over (see: bill frieder, 1989). and whatever role bo played in firing ernie from wjr: uh...it obvs had to do with ernie challenging his authority. i didn't realize the team's radio announcer had much say in their personnel moves. you're clueless.

bo was a good football coach and a lousy baseball executive. you're, at best, a hack. his dick is much bigger than yours, even in its state of decomposition.

[Shoalzie]

I re-watched the Studio 42 interview with Costas and Ernie...taped around the time of the World Series. Costas asked Ernie about Bo firing him and in typical classy Ernie fashion...he didn't have a bad word to say about Bo but he also didn't have a nice word to say about him either. He said Bo never reached out to him after the fact to apologize nor would he even shake his hand at a banquet they both attended.

[Screw_Michigan]

jesus, maybe you should go outside and smell a flower or something. ernie harwell let loose about zero bitterness over this and you page me via pm to read your faux-journalistic hit piece that mischaracterizes bo every time you mention his name. i didn't realize beating the teams you're coaching against constituted a dick-measuring contest, or that it's a cult of personality that dictates you fire the guy who took a job at another school before the season was even over (see: bill frieder, 1989). and whatever role bo played in firing ernie from wjr: uh...it obvs had to do with ernie challenging his authority. i didn't realize the team's radio announcer had much say in their personnel moves. you're clueless.

bo was a good football coach and a lousy baseball executive. you're, at best, a hack. his dick is much bigger than yours, even in its state of decomposition.

Yes, it was full of baiting, satire and innuendo, par for the course with anything posted on this board. Glad to see you took it personally.

[Screw_Michigan]

He said Bo never reached out to him after the fact to apologize nor would he even shake his hand at a banquet they both attended.

Of course not. Bo was a classless piece of shit and everything that Ernie wasn't. I'm still waiting for you scU-M tards to come up with a half-way legitimate reason why Ernie was fired in 1991 in the first place. Too bad Bo keeled over so quickly, maybe the Detroit media that sucked his dick his entire life would have asked him for a deathbed confession on why he fired Ernie.

But U-M honored Bo well in 2006 in typical Schembechler fashion: They fucking lost.

[Screw_Michigan]

and whatever role bo played in firing ernie from wjr: uh...it obvs had to do with ernie challenging his authority. i didn't realize the team's radio announcer had much say in their personnel moves.

That's the whole point, you braindead imbecile. Why would he fire Ernie then? Just face it, your hero was an overrated, classless piece of shit who was a chew toy for programs around the country. Glad to see in the Ernie vs. Bo debate, your taking up for Bo.

Maybe Ernie will take a trip down to Hell to forgive Bo. That would be like Ernie.

faux-journalistic

Boy, we got a genius, over here.

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

ernie harwell let loose about zero bitterness over this

He also didn't have anything positive to say about Bo when asked. It's fairly obvious that was his way of saying dude was a piece of crap.

[M Club]

Yes, it was full of baiting, satire and innuendo, par for the course with anything posted on this board. Glad to see you took it personally.

nice eject, you waste of pubic hair. you busted out your prep sports puff piece template and poured your entire heart into that post, then sent me a pm to come read your conjectured, unconvincing moaning.

i have no idea why bo fired ernie, or even if he did. you don't either, and i'm sure whatever explanation i rub one off to would make a lot more sense than ernie harwell being a threat to the team president's authority. even were the whole episode to be laid at bo's feet, it's not my job to come up for excuses as to why. the fucker isn't god.

as for bo's class, i'm sure he was an abrasive asshole considering even high school coaches are full on dicks. i'll also take personal testimony about his class over the stories you make up while playing with your barbies.

faux-journalistic

Boy, we got a genius, over here.

oh what, you're a real journalist? link us up then.

[Screw_Michigan]

Get familiar with the concept of satire, you mudhut making, geriatric ass wiping shitstain.

[M Club]

more backpedaling? que sorpresa! your vag smells like dead fish.

[Killian]

I'm not convinced Screw didn't C and P'd that from somewhere else. He obviously doesn't have any problem dropping 4 word long expletive statements, yet he drops an asterisk in the middle of "ass" and "dick"? Nope, that points to another message board.

And he also used the Campus Martius line in another post.

Even if it was yours, Screw, you have to fucking PM someone to get them to respond? That's fucking weak. Let your work stand on it's own and be judged.

[Screw_Michigan]

I had to insert the asterisks because I first posted it at this WMU bbs I post at and it ****'s four letter words. I got busy at work later in the day and didn't have the time to correct all the asterisks. I don't think I referenced Campus Martius in another post.

So what? I just wanted M Club and Steve to contribute. Not like I'm carrying on PM conversations with them.

[jiminphilly]

I don't think a RIP thread is a place to spew your venom.

Stay classy.

Actually to those of us who didn't pay attention to the situation at the time, his write-up was informative and relavent. Rack S_M.

[Killian]

Could of swore you did. Maybe you edited it out. Anyway, PM'ing a dude(s) to get them to respond is pretty gey, if you ask me.

[Screw_Michigan]

Good call, Killian. Next time I decide to compare Brian Kelly to Chairman Mao, I won't PM you for your response.

[Goober McTuber]

Could of swore you did. Maybe you edited it out. Anyway, PM'ing a dude(s) to get them to respond is pretty gey, if you ask me.

Hey! They both claimed to have balls. They could have been attractive chicks.

Sincerely,

Screwball

[Killian]

Good call, Killian. Next time I decide to compare Brian Kelly to Chairman Mao, I won't PM you for your response.

Why would you? If it's not in the college football forum, I don't care.

[Screw_Michigan]

What about the MLB forum?

[Killian]

Has Brian Kelly done anything w/r/t MLB? Nope. I came (would this be "ceyme"?) in here during the offseason and posted twice about Pujols and then to see if anything was being said about Ernie.

I've gone into the NFL forum during the time leading up to the draft, and just after.

So in short, if it's not in the CFB forum, I don't give a fuck.

[WolverineSteve]

I went to the viewing on friday. It was nice to see the out pouring of affection for Ernie. After the viewing you passed by Dave Dombrowski, he shook everyone's hand and thanked us for coming...class.

Going to the game tonight, Ernie tribute. Ernie's old broadcasting partner Ray Lane delivering the ball to another partner, Paul Carey who will through out the first pitch. Jose Feliciano is doing the national anthem as he did when Ernie was in charge of finding acts to sing the anthem for the '68 world series.

A PET will follow if any of you have the patience to guide me.

[War Wagon]

But U-M honored Bo well in 2006 in typical Schembechler fashion: They fucking lost.

Rack this thread.

[M Club]

Going to the game tonight, Ernie tribute. Ernie's old broadcasting partner Ray Lane delivering the ball to another partner, Paul Carey who will through out the first pitch. Jose Feliciano is doing the national anthem as he did when Ernie was in charge of finding acts to sing the anthem for the '68 world series.

jealous. i was just in the metro d and wish i could have gone, but ernie passed away while i was on the flight home. glad you get to go.

here's an article about choosing feliciano to sing tonight. rack ernie's subtle middle finger. yes, even the one he gave to bo.

http://theoaklandpress.com/articles/201 ... 520923.txt