1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,840 This is Retro Sports Radio. Visit RetroSeasons.com for more sports history. 2 00:00:06,840 --> 00:00:20,160 Phone calls have made such an important impact on your career, your life, and in 1981 you got another phone call from a little bitty town in northern New York, Cooperstown. 3 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:28,360 Yeah, right. They didn't call me direct for some reason. I don't know what the procedure is at Cooperstown for the Ford C. Frick winner, 4 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:36,760 and that was the award I won that got me into the Hall of Fame. But they had called Jim Campbell. Maybe they were trying to find me because I was down in Florida. 5 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:43,400 And Lulu called me to the phone and said, it's Mr. Campbell. And I answered the phone and Jim said, congratulations. I said, what do you mean? 6 00:00:43,400 --> 00:00:55,840 He said, well, you've been elected to the Hall of Fame. And that probably was the biggest thrill that I've ever had because it meant going up there and being on the platform with those great players and having all the family there. 7 00:00:55,840 --> 00:01:00,960 It was a great thing for me. And it was a phone call that I really cherish. 8 00:01:00,960 --> 00:01:11,880 The Tigers get back to the World Series in 1984. Great start to the season. You go 35 and five right out of the chute. That just propelled that team to great things. 9 00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:21,400 Oh, it did. When you win 35 out of the first 40 games, you've got such a nice cushion that you know unless there's a complete collapse, you're going to make the playoffs. 10 00:01:21,400 --> 00:01:32,920 But ironically, Sparky Edison told me that that was the most nervous season he'd gone through as a manager because the Tigers were establishing this magnificent record. 11 00:01:32,920 --> 00:01:39,760 Sparky always feared they would hit the playoffs and be eliminated and not get in the World Series. 12 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:46,560 And it would take away the achievement of the team in the regular season. And it did bother him a lot. 13 00:01:46,560 --> 00:01:51,640 They didn't have a lot of superstars, but they had Jack Morris and Lance Parrish and Gibby and some of those guys. 14 00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:58,120 And Trammell, of course, was a superstar, Whitaker. But they seemed to just get together and do the right thing. 15 00:01:58,120 --> 00:02:04,040 And they built confidence as it went along. And it was a great season to be around. 16 00:02:04,040 --> 00:02:11,040 But I remember one incident that we had in Anaheim. The Tigers had been on Sports Illustrated. They'd been in Sporty News. 17 00:02:11,040 --> 00:02:17,000 Sparky had been featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Everybody was writing about Sparky and the Tigers. 18 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:21,160 And they were breaking the record for most consecutive road wins. 19 00:02:21,160 --> 00:02:27,000 And they won a game in Anaheim and they won another game in Anaheim. And we were getting ready to go to Seattle. 20 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:31,440 And Sparky and I were sitting in the coffee shop there at the hotel in Anaheim. 21 00:02:31,440 --> 00:02:37,360 And a guy comes up and interferes with Sparky's breakfast. He says, hey, I'm from San Diego, Spark. 22 00:02:37,360 --> 00:02:42,040 And I used to be in Cincinnati. I'm a great Cincinnati fan, the big red machine. 23 00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:48,440 You are the greatest manager in baseball. You are simply terrific. By the way, what are you doing now? 24 00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:55,320 Oh, and Sparky went back to his cornflakes immediately. 25 00:02:55,320 --> 00:03:01,400 They did not lose in the playoffs. They advanced to the World Series. How did they take care of business? 26 00:03:01,400 --> 00:03:06,400 Well, they took care of business with good pitching and good balance. They swept the series with Kansas City. 27 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:09,400 They had no trouble at all with the Kansas City team. 28 00:03:09,400 --> 00:03:16,400 Then I think most of the people around Detroit were sort of hoping that the Cubs would win their playoff. 29 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:22,760 And those two teams would meet in the World Series because it was somewhat of a rivalry between Chicago and Detroit. 30 00:03:22,760 --> 00:03:28,600 But Mr. Garvey saw differently and he led the San Diego Padres past the Cubs. 31 00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:33,480 And the Padres were the team that represented the National League against the Tigers. 32 00:03:33,480 --> 00:03:39,440 And the Tigers went out there, opened the series and won the first game, lost the second and then won all the others. 33 00:03:39,440 --> 00:03:47,480 And it was a great time in Detroit. The celebration was marred to some extent by a guy barbecuing a taxi cab. 34 00:03:47,480 --> 00:03:56,600 And that picture got all over the world. It wasn't really symbolic of the city at that time, but people made the world feel that it was. 35 00:03:56,600 --> 00:04:01,680 But it was a great time in Detroit. And I think we still celebrate that 84 team. 36 00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:06,920 There was a dramatic moment in that ballgame. And you alluded to Gibby a few minutes ago. 37 00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:13,320 Kirk Gibson had a dramatic home run in the eighth inning that put the Tigers up and pretty much wrapped up the series, didn't it? 38 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:18,520 Well, that iced it, yeah. And he hit it against Gossage, who had always been a nemesis of Gibby's. 39 00:04:18,520 --> 00:04:25,840 And the first time they'd ever met, Goose struck him out. And Goose talked Dick Williams into keeping him in the ballgame. 40 00:04:25,840 --> 00:04:35,040 And after that short conversation, Gibby parked one in the upper deck in right field for the climactic home run of that World Series. 41 00:04:35,040 --> 00:04:42,160 Here's the pitch. He swings as a long drive to right. And it is a home run for Gibson. 42 00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:48,040 A three run home run for the Tigers, leading eight to four in the eighth inning. 43 00:04:48,040 --> 00:04:51,440 Who would win 68 or 84? 44 00:04:51,440 --> 00:04:55,640 Well, I've dodged that question all my life, so I'm going to dodge it one more time, I think. 45 00:04:55,640 --> 00:04:59,880 They were two great teams. And I think they are my favorite teams. 46 00:04:59,880 --> 00:05:05,920 I did pick the Yankees as the best team, but my favorite team would be one of those two, 68 or 84. 47 00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:13,240 I'd say it ended in a flat footed tie. But both of those teams got off to a good start and they had great balance. 48 00:05:13,240 --> 00:05:18,160 Each had a terrific catcher, Bill Freehand and Lance Parrish. 49 00:05:18,160 --> 00:05:22,960 They had a good keystone combination and they had a good center fielder. 50 00:05:22,960 --> 00:05:28,000 So that was a great fundamental fact for each one of those teams. 51 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:34,840 And the 68 team had an interesting year because they were more of a come from behind team. 52 00:05:34,840 --> 00:05:41,680 They got out in front early in the season and they were in first place except for six games. 53 00:05:41,680 --> 00:05:46,280 But as far as an individual game, they always had a different hero. 54 00:05:46,280 --> 00:05:49,720 They'd get a guy off the bench that would hit a home run. 55 00:05:49,720 --> 00:05:54,920 Tommy Maciek, Dick Trzysiewski, Jim Price, somebody like that would hit a home run. 56 00:05:54,920 --> 00:06:02,280 They had a great home run hitter in Willie Horton, but they didn't have a 300 hitter for the season, not among the regulars. 57 00:06:02,280 --> 00:06:05,480 Willie Horton led the team hitting about 285. 58 00:06:05,480 --> 00:06:10,840 But they had good power and they had pretty good speed and they had great defense. 59 00:06:10,840 --> 00:06:18,280 And of course, they had terrific pitching in the Denny McLean, Mickey Lowlich and Earl Wilson. 60 00:06:18,280 --> 00:06:21,280 And they didn't have the bullpen that the 84 team had. 61 00:06:21,280 --> 00:06:25,360 But in those days, you didn't depend on the bullpen like you do now. 62 00:06:25,360 --> 00:06:31,040 In 84, of course, they got off to the 35 and 5 record and they had a great team. 63 00:06:31,040 --> 00:06:39,800 And I don't know, you know, you'll never beat Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammell and had a terrific center fielder in Chet Lemon. 64 00:06:39,800 --> 00:06:43,680 And Darrell Evans came and had a lot of home runs and helped out. 65 00:06:43,680 --> 00:06:45,760 So it was just a great team. 66 00:06:45,760 --> 00:06:47,560 And I don't think one's any better than the other. 67 00:06:47,560 --> 00:06:50,000 And I'm not going to make a choice there. 68 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:54,920 It seems like I don't know whether it's a prerequisite for a Hall of Fame denotation, 69 00:06:54,920 --> 00:07:01,400 but a lot of Hall of Fame broadcasters, including you and I, have been fired at one time or another. 70 00:07:01,400 --> 00:07:06,080 Yes, Bob, quite a few Hall of Famers have been fired in the course of their careers. 71 00:07:06,080 --> 00:07:13,920 Mel Allen and Red Barber, the first two that ever went into the Hall of Fame, were both fired by the New York Yankees. 72 00:07:13,920 --> 00:07:19,360 And then a lot of the other announcers, Harry Carrey, for instance, has been fired. 73 00:07:19,360 --> 00:07:21,560 I got fired in 1990. 74 00:07:21,560 --> 00:07:29,600 We had a meeting at Tigers Stadium and the Tigers told me that I would work one more year and after that, I wouldn't come back. 75 00:07:29,600 --> 00:07:31,040 And I understood that. 76 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:35,640 I think when you work for somebody, he's got a right to hire you and he's got a right to fire you. 77 00:07:35,640 --> 00:07:42,920 And also, I realized as a baseball historian that nobody lasts forever and everybody can be replaced. 78 00:07:42,920 --> 00:07:47,200 And I never held any bitterness or acrimony about that. 79 00:07:47,200 --> 00:07:50,120 I just went ahead and tried to do the job. 80 00:07:50,120 --> 00:07:56,600 And after the 1991 season, which was my final season, I worked for the California Angels. 81 00:07:56,600 --> 00:08:04,920 I did some games for them and I did the game of the week for CBS, which I had done from time to time before when I could get off. 82 00:08:04,920 --> 00:08:12,280 But it was a part of my career that really got me into the national spotlight a little bit more than I had been. 83 00:08:12,280 --> 00:08:16,240 And I think, as the Bible tells us, all things happen for good. 84 00:08:16,240 --> 00:08:22,160 And I think it was probably the best thing in the long run that ever happened in my career. 85 00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:24,800 When a door closes, a window opens. 86 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:36,280 And sure enough, a great window opened for you because then you took your integrity that you'd had in the booth and you went into the corporate America world for what was going to be a brief period of time. 87 00:08:36,280 --> 00:08:39,240 But it's turned out to be almost a second career. 88 00:08:39,240 --> 00:08:43,920 It is a second career and I've been with the Blue Cross Blue Shield as their spokesman. 89 00:08:43,920 --> 00:08:45,840 I've done a lot of commercials. 90 00:08:45,840 --> 00:08:47,760 I've worked for different companies. 91 00:08:47,760 --> 00:08:57,280 I've met a lot of people in industry and commerce that have helped me out and made me feel a lot better and certainly aided my career in the long run. 92 00:08:57,280 --> 00:09:04,280 1993 brings a change in ownership of the Tigers and a chance for you to return to the broadcast booth. 93 00:09:04,280 --> 00:09:14,640 One of the great things that happened to me in my career, my lifetime for that matter, was that Mike Illich, after he bought the Tigers, one of the first things he did was to bring me back to the Tigers. 94 00:09:14,640 --> 00:09:17,760 My agent, Gary Spicer, had called him from Arizona. 95 00:09:17,760 --> 00:09:19,280 He said, come in and bring Ernie. 96 00:09:19,280 --> 00:09:20,200 I want to talk here. 97 00:09:20,200 --> 00:09:22,040 The next day we got in there. 98 00:09:22,040 --> 00:09:28,440 They fixed up a letter in 20 minutes and I was back with the Tigers. 99 00:09:28,440 --> 00:09:33,120 September 27, 1999, Ernie, you would say goodbye to an old friend. 100 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:37,000 Tiger Stadium, that was the last home game that you got to work in that facility. 101 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:46,640 It was with Kansas City and a Grand Slam homer in the bottom of the eighth by Robert Fick kind of set things up for you to take it through the ninth inning and wish that stadium goodbye. 102 00:09:46,640 --> 00:09:57,280 It was a wonderful time for me and I think for all the fans of Detroit and a little bittersweet, though, because we were saying goodbye to the old ballpark that everybody had loved over the years. 103 00:09:57,280 --> 00:10:00,880 And the great thing was that all the old Tigers were brought back. 104 00:10:00,880 --> 00:10:09,720 They had a terrific ceremony, Eldon Arca and Brad Osmas, the two representatives of the new and the old Tigers. 105 00:10:09,720 --> 00:10:23,960 And the terrific thing about that whole night, Bob, was the reverence that the crowd showed to old Tigers Stadium because they had a jam packed stadium and a little incident that might have been untoward, could have ruined the whole program. 106 00:10:23,960 --> 00:10:29,200 But all these people jammed in together with a common bond, the love for the ballpark. 107 00:10:29,200 --> 00:10:33,240 They were very reverent of it. And the program went off without a hitch. 108 00:10:33,240 --> 00:10:35,920 And I think everybody really enjoyed it. 109 00:10:35,920 --> 00:10:41,080 It was a time of great sentiment for me because I was losing an old friend. 110 00:10:41,080 --> 00:10:47,440 And I think I almost broke up right at the end of my little speech there, but I did make it through. 111 00:10:47,440 --> 00:10:50,280 And it was a great day and a great night. 112 00:10:50,280 --> 00:10:53,520 And I will always cherish that moment. 113 00:10:53,520 --> 00:10:59,720 And the big crowd now anticipating the end of this game, 8-2, the Tigers in the lead. 114 00:10:59,720 --> 00:11:02,840 And here's the set by Jonesy and the pitch at the ball. 115 00:11:02,840 --> 00:11:06,080 Now, folks, I'm going to say my goodbye to Tigers Stadium. 116 00:11:06,080 --> 00:11:09,240 So I'm going to forget about the play by play for a moment. 117 00:11:09,240 --> 00:11:11,200 How do you talk to a legend? 118 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:13,520 Can you say goodbye to a shrine? 119 00:11:13,520 --> 00:11:15,680 Can you walk away from a treasure? 120 00:11:15,680 --> 00:11:17,080 It's not easy. 121 00:11:17,080 --> 00:11:20,240 You do it with a lump in your throat and a tear in your eye. 122 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:25,840 For almost 40 years, I've spent as much time at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull as I have at home. 123 00:11:25,840 --> 00:11:29,720 I've been elated, dejected, thrilled and disappointed here. 124 00:11:29,720 --> 00:11:31,480 I've sweltered through the summer heat. 125 00:11:31,480 --> 00:11:35,320 I've frozen in the spring and fall in sickness and in health. 126 00:11:35,320 --> 00:11:38,240 It's been my home, my office and my refuge. 127 00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:42,280 When I first came here to broadcast, it was Briggs Stadium and then Tigers Stadium. 128 00:11:42,280 --> 00:11:47,840 And somewhere along the way, I began to call it the corner of Michigan and Trumbull. 129 00:11:47,840 --> 00:11:50,320 And soon shortened that to just the corner. 130 00:11:50,320 --> 00:11:54,680 To me, it will always be the corner, the most famous corner in Michigan. 131 00:11:54,680 --> 00:11:57,080 Tigers Stadium has been a dear friend. 132 00:11:57,080 --> 00:12:02,480 And even though I look forward to our new home, Comerica Park, and to the thrill of watching new Tigers stars, 133 00:12:02,480 --> 00:12:07,440 this old corner and its great players will remain a timeless gift of the past. 134 00:12:07,440 --> 00:12:10,920 The corner is part of our history, our heritage. 135 00:12:10,920 --> 00:12:16,200 It's been magic, hope and the true heartbeat of our city. 136 00:12:16,200 --> 00:12:19,840 Baseball memories have come here to live and to be treasured. 137 00:12:19,840 --> 00:12:22,200 And you and I have been part of those memories. 138 00:12:22,200 --> 00:12:25,720 We've flew to the home runs and strikeouts and double plays. 139 00:12:25,720 --> 00:12:29,520 From generation to generation, we've joined that joyous crowd. 140 00:12:29,520 --> 00:12:31,640 And all of us love this old place. 141 00:12:31,640 --> 00:12:34,160 And its closing chugs at our heart. 142 00:12:34,160 --> 00:12:37,720 And like you, like all of us, I will cherish its memories. 143 00:12:37,720 --> 00:12:44,160 I know that there's never been a corner like Michigan and Trumbull. 144 00:12:44,160 --> 00:12:48,680 Now comes 2000 to your final season in the booth at Detroit. 145 00:12:48,680 --> 00:12:51,080 Did you do a farewell tour, so to speak? 146 00:12:51,080 --> 00:12:58,520 You know, players sometimes when they retire, you know, the different cities around the league will honor them with a chair or with, you know, different things like that. 147 00:12:58,520 --> 00:13:00,040 Did you have anything like that happen? 148 00:13:00,040 --> 00:13:03,120 Well, we did have that. I really didn't like that very much. 149 00:13:03,120 --> 00:13:06,400 But it was something that you couldn't turn down. 150 00:13:06,400 --> 00:13:13,720 And you'd go to a certain city, Cleveland or wherever, and they'd say, look, we want to have a little thing on the scoreboard about you. 151 00:13:13,720 --> 00:13:16,120 And we want to make a presentation. 152 00:13:16,120 --> 00:13:19,400 Or maybe they'd say we'd like for you to throw out the first ball. 153 00:13:19,400 --> 00:13:21,760 And that was a very thoughtful of them. 154 00:13:21,760 --> 00:13:26,120 And some places, you know, we'd like to name the visiting radio booth after you. 155 00:13:26,120 --> 00:13:28,720 And it's something that you deeply appreciate. 156 00:13:28,720 --> 00:13:31,040 And you don't want to offend anybody. 157 00:13:31,040 --> 00:13:35,560 But it got to a point where it was almost the only time I could relax. 158 00:13:35,560 --> 00:13:39,160 That season was when I was in the radio booth broadcasting the game. 159 00:13:39,160 --> 00:13:43,880 Because the people probably paid me a lot more attention than I deserved. 160 00:13:43,880 --> 00:13:47,240 And it would have been a lot better if I had just gone my way without it. 161 00:13:47,240 --> 00:13:49,520 But there wasn't any way to avoid it. 162 00:13:49,520 --> 00:13:52,560 Did you do anything differently that year in the booth? 163 00:13:52,560 --> 00:13:54,120 Once you got on the air? 164 00:13:54,120 --> 00:13:59,160 I've always felt that the game is a thing and the announcer is just a small part of it. 165 00:13:59,160 --> 00:14:00,840 People tune in to hear the game. 166 00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:05,360 They want to know whether the Tigers are winning or losing, what the score is. 167 00:14:05,360 --> 00:14:09,600 And it doesn't matter who's doing the game, they're going to tune in whether you work 168 00:14:09,600 --> 00:14:12,880 or you don't work because they are interested in baseball. 169 00:14:12,880 --> 00:14:19,160 Therefore, I think the game has to be the focus of the announcer and not himself. 170 00:14:19,160 --> 00:14:21,840 Any regrets in leaving the booth when you did? 171 00:14:21,840 --> 00:14:23,480 No, I don't think so. 172 00:14:23,480 --> 00:14:27,560 I felt like I wanted to quit while I was still doing fairly well. 173 00:14:27,560 --> 00:14:32,560 I didn't want everybody to get to the point where they were saying in large numbers, why 174 00:14:32,560 --> 00:14:36,960 did that old guy hang it up and let somebody take over that can do the job? 175 00:14:36,960 --> 00:14:39,920 I didn't want to leave with that kind of a feeling. 176 00:14:39,920 --> 00:14:44,880 And I felt like if I made a mistake quitting too early, that was better than making a mistake 177 00:14:44,880 --> 00:14:46,760 and staying too long. 178 00:14:46,760 --> 00:15:03,120 Detroit Tigers WKR.