George Kell Courtesy National Baseball Hall of Fame Library, Cooperstown, New York	...Hall of Famers too! All through their history the Detroit-Tigers-Announcers have alllllways stood for excellence behind the mike... through the peaks of the '40s and '60s and '80s... in the valleys of the '50s and '70s and '90... it's always been the same. Think about the names... the ones most of us don't remember like Ty Tyson and Mel Ott and Harry Heillmann... the ones who are gone, but most of us remember and miss- the immortal George Kell, Paul Carey, Ernie Harwell. Heck, just to prove we're not old fogies, we even like the new guys like Mario and Rod on the video these days... and Dan Dickerson's call of Maggs pennant clincher last year on the radio side is already the stuff of legend right up there with Ernie's 1968 clincher and Kell's "HE CALLED HIM SAIFFE!" For us old-timers, the radio was the main way to follow the Bengals... it was kind of an event when the Tigers were televised- for years they broadcast 40 games... most were weekday road games, but they'd often pick up weekend contests at home. ... and with the radio, obviously one man rises above all the others and it's...... Ernie Harwell!

Ernie joined the Detroiters in 1959 after stints with Brooklyn (along with Red Barber) in the late 40s. He moved onto Baltimore and finally to Detroit in 1959 where he stayed for over 40 years. Over that time, Ernie worked with several sidekicks... Ray Lane, Gene Osborn... but probably the best of them were George Kell, who later made his announcing bones on the video side- more about him later... and Paul Carey.

Paul was a tremendously underrated announcer... joined the Tigers radio team in '73 after stints as sports director at WJR and play-by-play for Michigan and Pistons basketball. His booming baritone was decribed more than once as "the voice of God," and Paul was almost as dignified- we never heard him scream or shout, but it wasn't hard to tell where his loyalties were. While all of Detroit celebrated the 1984 pennant run, Paul silently suffered while his wife, Patti underwent cancer treatments... she would pass away after the season... but he was such a true pro that most fans had no idea of his personal situation.

I remember running into him by the bullpen in Lakeland back around '83... My brother had made a beer run, so I kept talking to him, hoping to delay him long enough until he got back. Little did I know at the time that Paul was one of the nicest, friendliest guys around and he would always have time to talk with the fans. People never seem to bring him up, but they when they hear his name, they always respond with enthusiasm. He seemed to fade away in the wake of the Ernie Harwell goodbye tour, but I still really miss him a lot. I'd like to know what he's up to these days... on any other club, he'd easily have been the number one guy. In any event, Paul retired when Ernie was fired and finished out the '91 season... just as well-- it'd be hard to imagine Paul without Ernie just as Ernie's never had a good a partner as Paul.

And we'll have a lot more about Ernie.... soon. Watch this space!

... and other guys on the radio- I remember Gene Osborn from the mid '60s who gave way to Ray Lane. Ray was a Detroit TV sports guy who was well known there before and after his Tiger gig which ran from the mid '60s thru the early '70s when Paul Carey would arrive... Ray continued TV work in Detroit, but became largely unknown in the rest of Michigan.

Other guys included Rick Rizzs and Bob Rathbun who had the bad luck to follow Ernie and Paul... I don't think that anyone could have made Tiger fandom happy at that time, such was the outcry against the organization and Bo Schembechler. Rizz is now back with Seattle... he's put in over 20 years there interrupted only by his short Detroit stay. Rathbun currently calls Atlanta Hawks hoops among other things.

After the R & R boys left, Frank Beckman, the Michigan football guy had a stint with guys like Larry Sorenson, the old pitcher. Eventually ex-catcher Jim Price arrived and remains to this day. Jim's actually pretty good... a lot of insight about how a catcher sees the game. As the father of a catcher, I really like that. His partner, Dan Dickerson ain't half bad either- I remember him with WOOD radio in Grand Rapids quite a few years ago... he's quietly taking ownership of that "Voice of the Tigers" gig... I think he'll be here a long time.

The Tigers are distinguished on the TV side as well. Let's take a look at Kell... Kaline... Larry Osterman and the others!

Return from Detroit-Tigers-Announcers to Home

Return to Top