Editorial: A salute to 'Hawk' Harrelson
Ken "Hawk" Harrelson's tearful signoff Sunday marked the end of an era for Chicago White Sox fans, and for all Chicago baseball fans, really.
After 33 years calling play-by-play on the South Side, Hawk heads into retirement with a spot secured on the list of legendary Chicago sports broadcasters. He joins Jack Brickhouse, Bob Elson, Harry Caray, Lloyd Pettit, Pat Hughes, Pat Foley and others who became fixtures reporting the good, the bad and the ugly about Chicago sports teams.
Hawk has his legions of loyal fans, and more than a few detractors. He's been criticized for being a "homer, but he's made no bones about root, root, rooting for his home team.
Love him or hate him, Hawk was always fun to listen to, and isn't that what it's all about? Sure, we want to know balls and strikes and how a player mired in a long slump is due for a hit. But we also want to be entertained.
Hawk did that. During a nine-inning broadcast, listeners would hear him rant at umpires, wallow over a booted ground ball and cheer for a long one.
He created great nicknames, such as the Frank "the Big Hurt" Thomas, "Blackjack" McDowell and Lance "One Dog" Johnson, that stuck with players for their careers.
He had an endless supply of familiar catchphrases - Hawkisms - including "Put it on the board, yes," "ducksnort," "he gone," and "grab some bench." But what listeners also got was a lesson in baseball, whether it was the mechanics of the pivot in turning a double play or his opinions on the finer points of the strategy behind an infield shift, Hawk could talk baseball with the best of them.
Harrelson's eight-year playing career at the Major League level included stints on four teams as a first baseman and outfielder. He had a career stat line of a .239 batting average, 131 home runs and 421 runs batted in, including the 1968 season when he was an all-star and led the American League in RBI.
Team his on-field perspective as a position player with the thoughts of knowledgeable color commentators he worked with over the years, such as Don Drysdale and Steve Stone, and you could learn something you didn't know about baseball.
As Hawk turns off the mic, his voice lives on with the call of Mark Buehrle's perfect game and the White Sox' 2005 world championship.
"I can't imagine why Hawk hasn't won the Ford Frick Award (an honor presented annually for excellence in baseball broadcasting by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum). It doesn't make any sense," White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf recently told MLB.com. "Not to take anything away from the other guys who have won the award, but nobody has made an impression on the public the way Hawk has. He deserves the award."
Dadgummit, we agree.