Ernie Harwell Has Incurable Cancer

Baseball HOFer and longtime Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell Thursday said that he has been diagnosed with "incurable bile duct cancer" and "won't undergo surgery." Harwell, 91, said, "We don't know how long this lasts. It could be a year.

Legendary Tigers announcer Ernie Harwell has inoperable cancer and he and his wife have decided to let the cancer run its course. The Detroit Free Press broke this bummer of a story and writers all over the sports world are saying the same things: Ernie Harwell is an absolute gem on an individual and this is just plain sad.

I don’t have a lot to say about this really. I think most people have the same sorts of thoughts of Ernie..and, aside from Bo Schembechler, have you ever heard of anyone that didn’t love Ernie Harwell? There are very few people you can say that about, especially someone who has lived in the public eye.

Ernie Harwell was and always will be the voice of the Detroit Tigers. I don’t think you’ll find anyone who can deny that. He is one of those public figures that you feel like you know. I’ve never met Ernie, but I’m sure I’ve spent a few days of my life listening to him speak. This is tough.

Best of luck to Ernie, his wife, and the rest of his family as they work through this difficult time. However, I can pretty much guarantee you won’t hear one sad word from this strong man as he fights this battle.