Westwood One Radio’s Statement on Ernie Harwell

Throughout his career, Ernie Harwell worked postseason games for Westwood One Radio when it had the national contract with Major League Baseball. When Ernie was unceremoniously let go by the Detroit Tigers in 1991, he joined Westwood One to call the Game of the Week for the 1992 and continued to work for the network until 1997 when ESPN Radio took over the contract. And Ernie also worked for ESPN Radio for the postseason as well.

Here’s a statement from Westwood One.

Westwood One Mourns the Passing of Ernie Harwell

Ernie Harwell’s legendary voice reached beyond the borders of Detroit to a national audience as he called play-by-play for Westwood One’s coverage of Major League Baseball from 1992-1997. Executive Producer of Westwood One Sports Howard Deneroff worked closely with Harwell during that time.

“Westwood One is deeply saddened by the news of Ernie Harwell’s death and we mourn his passing with his immediate family, and also his extended family, Tiger nation,” said Deneroff “Harwell’s southern charm and unique style graced our (CBS Radio) national airwaves for 6 seasons in the early 90’s and we feel honored to have been able to work with him, and allow the rest of the country to hear and understand why fans in Michigan were enraptured for decades. Ernie liked to say ‘he was a part of all of those that met him’, but we are the lucky ones for having met him, and for having listened to him for so long. The warmth of his voice was only matched by the warmth of his heart and personality. He was a legend both on and off air, and he will be missed greatly.”

More later.