George Kell remembered by Ernie Harwell
by Steve Kornacki (www.Mlive.com)Tuesday March 24, 2009, 1:40 PM
LAKELAND, Fla. -- George Kell, one of the true gentlemen of baseball, died this morning at his home in Swifton, Ark. He was 86.
Kell, enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983, broadcast Detroit Tigers games for 37 years before retiring in 1996.
"George had two great careers," said Tigers Hall of Fame broadcaster Ernie Harwell. "He was a wonderful third baseman and a Hall of Famer, and then as an announcer.
"I think George's appeal was that he brought the field to the booth. There was an authoritative ring to what he said. He was straight forward with a laid-back touch. It was nothing fancy; George just laid it out.
"And to the people who listened, they all thought he was a friend of theirs."
Kell was a career .306 hitter, amassing 2,054 hits and winning the batting title in 1949 for the Detroit Tigers by hitting.3429 and edging future Boston Red Sox teammate Ted Williams by .0002.
It was while injured in his final 1957 season with the Orioles that Harwell, then calling games in Baltimore, invited Kell to do one inning with him. Harwell said is comments were well-received, leading to a pregame show on CBS-TV before the national games handled by Dizzy Dean and Pee Wee Reese.
Kell began doing Tigers radio and TV broadcasts in 1959, and was instrumental in bringing Harwell to Detroit.
"George called and said, 'I recommended you and the Tigers asked me to get in touch with you.' '' Harwell said. "I came and that was it."
Harwell, 91, was the 1981 recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award, placing him in the Hall of Fame at Cooperstown as a broadcaster.
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