RIP Ernie Harwell

[CW]

Nice passage by Ernie, Scott. Thanks for posting it.

One final tribute from me, for Ernie....

Mike Thompson, editorial cartoonist for the Free Press, made an obituary
cartoon earlier this week, along with an interesting little story, both of which
put a lump in my throat:



Normally, I shy away from drawing obituary cartoons. The only time I break my self-imposed moratorium on obit cartoons is after the death of someone I truly respected.

Hall of Fame Detroit Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell is such an individual. He was a legend, his voice was like comfort food and he was a class act to boot.

I first met Harwell years ago during a book signing. The Free Press had just published a collection of my cartoons and, as coincidence would have it, my paper had also recently published a book of Harwell’s columns that he wrote for the Free Press.

If I ever needed a lesson in humility, selling copies of my book in a booth adjacent to a booth where Ernie Harwell was selling copies of his book was it.

I sold a respectable number of books that day, but the crowd of people lined up to buy Harwell’s book was enormous. When the crowd died down, Harwell introduced himself and suggested that we exchange books. I’m not sure he was really interested in a copy of my book, that wasn’t the point.

Harwell had put himself in my shoes – some poor sap with the unenviable job of trying to sell a book next to a local legend. He sensed that I might be feeling a little embarrassed and was reaching out to me, a complete stranger.

In a world where the rule seems to be that fame goes hand in hand with pretentiousness, Harwell was the exception.

I ran into him again years later in the press box at either the baseball All-Star game, or the World Series (I don’t remember which) and Harwell remembered me. Proving that even as he was pushing 90, his memory was still better than mine.

People like Harwell, who become famous yet maintain a sense of humility, don’t come along too often. When such people leave us, they’re missed.