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It's OVAH: Hawk Harrelson calls final Sox game

He gone.

White Sox announcer Ken "Hawk" Harrelson can finally sit back, relax and strap it down for good.

His broadcasting career is officially ovah.

A fixture in the Southside television booth for 33 seasons, Harrelson called his final game from the catbird seat Sunday, a 6-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs at Guaranteed Rate Field.

The iconic broadcaster entertained questions from the media before the game on the broadcast level of the stadium, a level named in his honor in 2011.

He remained as opinionated on his last day as on his first. Harrelson knows he isn't everyone's pick to click, largely because of the opinions he offers.

He does not care.

"I've been really, absolutely raked over by a lot of people in the past and it didn't bother me," he said. "And I've been praised by a lot of people in the past and that didn't take me up to another level.

"Overall, I think the consistency I've lived with has been a big factor in that. It's like the mirror. The mirror will tell you everything you need to know. If that mirror likes you, then you're OK. For the most part in my life, the mirror has liked me."

The baseball lifer played nine Major League seasons for Boston, Cleveland, Washington and Kansas City. He was named American League Player of the Year in 1968, when he hit 35 home runs and led the league with 109 RBI.

Harrelson's broadcasting career began with Boston in 1975. He joined the White Sox in 1981. With the exception of a three-year stint when he became White Sox general manager for a season and, subsequently, returned to the booth to announce New York Yankees games in 1987-88, Hawk cinched it up and hunkered down through thick and thin with two generations of Sox fans.

Along the way, phrases he coined became part of the Chicago lexicon regardless of rooting interest. Every baseball fan in town speaks part Hawk: "Duck snort; Ball four, base hit; Grab some bench; Hang with 'em; Stretch!"

And, of course, "You can put in on the board, Yes!"

Then there were the nicknames. Hawk bestowed monikers that stuck for a lifetime on Frank "The Big Hurt" Thomas, Lance "One Dog" Johnson, "Black" Jack McDowell and Carlos "El Caballo" Lee, among many.

"I get players who text me a lot of times, and they'll use some of those catchphrases when something's going on," Harrelson said. "A couple of them when they hit home runs, when they get back in their room they'll text me, 'You can put it on the boooooard, yes!' So, it's flattering."

His favorite on-air memory? Calling Mark Buehrle's perfect game in 2009.

"That's the greatest moment in my broadcasting career because of who he was," Harrelson said. "He's my all-time favorite."

Harrelson will remain part of the organization as he transitions to the role of White Sox ambassador in 2019, when he begins his eighth decade in baseball. He said he looks forward to seeing the upcoming crop of talented White Sox prospects, led by Eloy Jimenez.

"Under the circumstances," he said, "I want to be with the White Sox as long as I live."

Chicago White Sox players and coaches tip their caps to Ken "Hawk" Harrelson after the game as it was Harrelson's last broadcast as a announcer for the White Sox, Sunday, Sept. 23, 2018, in Chicago. The Cubs won 6-1. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
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