He is quick to tell you that he is "just a turtle on fence post", noting that we all know that turtle didn't get there by himself. He credits so many people for the opportunities that he has experienced...yet he has spent so many years positively influencing our lives, about life as seen through the many stories he tells via baseball.
Although I have only lived in the Detroit metro area for two years which limits my exposure to hearing Harwell call games all my life, I could immediately feel the respect and warmth of his broadcasts. Seeing him at several baseball and community events, I am always impressed with the attention that the sports stars give him when they are around him. Not only professional baseball players but professionals from other sports seem to delight in being around him and hearing the stories he tells with his charming southern drawl.
Whether you have the opportunity to hear him or you value hearing baseball stories that have something interesting to learn from in each story, you will enjoy this book.
If you are a person that enjoys learning from people that have shared their life with others and brought a positive influence to the world, you will enjoy this biography of a hall of famer.
Thanks Ernie!
"My 60 Years in Baseball" has a very unusual title for an autobiography. That's because it's not an autobiography -- it's a standard bio, written by columnist Tom Keegan. Presumably this was done with Ernie Harwell's full cooperation, and reprints of several Harwell newspaper columns highlight the book. I'm just a little confused by the use of the word "My".
I know Tom Keegan's columns from the New York Post, and "My 60 Years" reads very much like a 275-page human interest story. It's a puff piece, but in the best way possible. Keegan tracks down interviews with athletes, writers and friends who have known Harwell at various points along his 60-plus-year career, and the stories related are mostly heart-warming. The best chapter in the book is an interview with Denny McLain, one-time Tiger pitching ace, from his cell in federal prison. Even repeat convicts love the voice of Ernie Harwell.
Don't read "Ernie Harwell" because it's the best sports bio of all time, but read it to become more familiar with one of the last of the original (and now "old school") announcers. I listened to Ernie for the brief time I lived in the Detroit metro area, and I'm glad I had the chance. It's a specific style of broadcast, heavy on imagery and game detail, that's no longer in vogue and will be dearly missed when the last of its practictioners hangs up their microphones. Read the stories Keegan finds, and read again the reprinted Harwell columns, which are a delight of word choice, firm opinion, and humor.
