Gaining a Friend in Heaven

Tuesday, Gumpy gained a friend in heaven.  Ernie Harwell passed away after a nine month battle with cancer of the bile duct.  He was a true gentleman by all accounts; a man who was generous with his time, enjoyed life, worked tirelessly and had a wife who admired him until the end.  Kind of like Gumpy.  While they never met, I am confident they would have been fast friends.

I didn't have a portable radio as a kid, so I couldn't sneak a listen to Ernie and his broadcast partner Paul Carey very often.  In the early 80's, I was a bigger fan of George Kell and Al Kaline doing the occasional Saturday television broadcast of Tigers Baseball because it was an event that my dad and I would watch together.  Ernie's book, Tuned To Baseball was my first real introduction to the man.  My Aunt Mary gave me an autographed copy in 1985.  I don't think I slept much until I finished reading it for the first time.  I have been a big fan ever since.

It shouldn't come as a shock that I cried a little when I found out Ernie had died.  I cried a little when I found out he had cancer too.  Some of the tears were for the recognition that another piece of my childhood is gone forever.  Most of my tears were because just how much Ernie reminded me of Gumpy.  In a small way, I lost Gumpy all over again.

Both men were humble.  I don't recall hearing either of them talking about how much they had accomplished, instead they let other people do the talking for them.  They just did the accomplishing.  Both men were great at making people feel like they were the most important person in the room.  Neither of them were prone to critising people, although they both faced plenty of situations where normal humans would have felt justified criticising the Hell out of someone.

Both men enjoyed life.  You could hear Ernie's smile on the radio.  Gumpy's laugh was never far away. They adored their wives, their families and the people they cherished.  They loved the game of baseball and had plenty of stories to share.  They took the time to mentor the men who worked with them.  They were men of great faith, hopeful that they had done enough to please their maker.  

For them, I think their great faith was well placed.  I'm hoping they get a chance to finally meet over a cup of coffee at some dinner in Heaven so they can chat a little Tigers baseball.
 

Tiger Stadium

Everytime I drive by the corner of Michigan and Trumbell, the nostaligic kid in me is a little upset for the lost of Detroit's baseball Mecca.  I remember it best as Tiger Stadium, which was the last and longest held name for the field.  Navin Field, Briggs Stadium and Bennett Park were all names attached to that piece of real estate.  The Detroit Tigers won four baseball World Series championships there and the Lions won four National Football League championships at the corner well before the Super Bowl became a national holiday.

My memories of Gumpy and Tiger Stadium are limited, mostly because we started going to more games together after the Tigers moved to Comerica Park after the 1999 season.  He had a number of great memories at Tiger Stadium though and he loved to share his stories.  

Perhaps his favorite and the one I remember most is about the first game he ever saw at Briggs Stadium (as it was known then).  He was a big baseball fan, playing ball with his cousin Harold "Tink" Farnham and listening to the occasional game on the radio.  His first experience walking into Briggs was quite impressive.

He attended the game with his father Frank and his brother Vernal.  Vernal was several years older than Gumpy and was a pretty decent hitter in his own right.  From their seats, they had a pretty good view of the left field fence.  It was 340 feet from home plate to the fence and Vernal thought it looked pretty short.  Short enought that he was convinced he could belt the ball right over the fence.  That is until Vic Wertz came to bat. 

Wertz was a scrappy ballplayer, fighting is way back to the majors after a bout with polio.  He was a tremendous hitter with great power, finishing in the top 10 in home runs most years.  He might be best known for hitting the ball that Willie Mays made his famous catch on in the 1945 World Series.  Most importantly, he was one of Gumpy's favorite players.  

Just as Wertz came to bat, Vernal leaned over to Gumpy to declare that he thought he could pop the ball over left field.  That is when Wertz hit the ball harder than any ball Gumpy had ever witnessed and the left fielder caught it on the warning track.  So much for his brother's bragging.  And so solidified a young man's undying love for Detroit Tigers baseball.