Ken Harrelson
The Hawk: from player to broadcaster, a White Sox icon.
Kenneth Smith Harrelson (born September 4, 1941), nicknamed "the Hawk" due to his distinctive profile, is an American former professional baseball player and television announcer. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1963 to 1971 as a first baseman and outfielder, and he subsequently spent 33 years as a play-by-play broadcast announcer for the Chicago White Sox. In December 2019, Harrelson was named the recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award, presented annually to one broadcaster for "major contributions to baseball".
Quick Facts
- Role
- Player and Broadcaster
- Affiliation
- Chicago White Sox (1968–1970 as player; 1975–2018 as broadcaster)
- First appears
- Made his MLB debut in 1963 with the Kansas City Athletics
- Status
- Retired from broadcasting, Hall of Fame eligible (Voting)
- Notable achievement
- Member of the 1970s 'Harrelson's' broadcast team known for high energy
Lore & Background
Harrelson was born in Woodruff, South Carolina, and his family moved to Savannah, Georgia, when he was in fifth grade. As a child Harrelson was interested in basketball and he hoped to pursue a basketball scholarship from the University of Kentucky. His parents divorced when he was eight. He played golf, baseball, football and basketball at Benedictine Military School in Savannah, Georgia.
Throwing and batting right-handed, Harrelson played for four teams: the Kansas City Athletics (1963–66, 1967), Washington Senators (1966–67), Boston Red Sox (1967–69), and Cleveland Indians (1969–71). In his nine-season career, Harrelson was a .239 hitter with 131 home runs and 421 RBI in 900 games. His time with the Athletics ended abruptly after only 61 games, when Harrelson was quoted in a Washington newspaper calling team owner Charlie Finley "a menace to baseball" following the dismissal of manager Alvin Dark.
Although Harrelson denied using the word "menace", he was released and ended up signing a lucrative deal with the Boston Red Sox. Brought in to replace the injured Tony Conigliaro, Harrelson hit a home run on his first at bat for Boston and helped the team win the pennant, but watched the team drop the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. However, in his finest season, he made the American League All-Star team, hitting a career-high 35 home runs, and leading the major leagues in runs batted in with 109.
He also finished third in the American League Most Valuable Player balloting. Harrelson announced his retirement the day after he was traded along with Dick Ellsworth and Juan Pizarro from the Red Sox to the Indians for Sonny Siebert, Vicente Romo and Joe Azcue on April 19. He had felt that his business ventures made it impractical for him to move to any other city. Following conversations with commissioner Bowie Kuhn and a contract adjustment by Cleveland, Harrelson ended his first retirement a few days later.
He finished the year with 30 home runs and a career-high 99 walks. He also used his local celebrity status to briefly host a half-hour TV show, The Hawk's Nest, on local CBS affiliate WJW-TV. During spring training the following year, Harrelson suffered a broken leg while sliding into second base during a March 19 exhibition game against the Oakland Athletics.
Reader's Guide
Harrelson began a broadcasting career in 1975 with the Boston Red Sox on WSBK-TV, partnering with Dick Stockton. He became highly popular, especially after being teamed with veteran play-by-play man Ned Martin in 1979. Harrelson left after the 1981 season, moving to a broadcasting role with the Chicago White Sox; Harrelson noted that he and Red Sox co-owner Haywood Sullivan "didn't get along". Harrelson served as a White Sox announcer from 1982 to 1985.
On October 2, 1985, Harrelson was named executive vice president of baseball operations for the White Sox. Then-general manager of the White Sox Roland Hemond was given a special assistant role, and left the team in April 1986, leaving Harrelson as the de facto general manager, until Tom Haller was hired as the team's new general manager in early June 1986. Haller would have disagreements with Harrelson and leave at the end of the season. During June 1986, Harrelson fired assistant general manager Dave Dombrowski and fired manager Tony La Russa.
Harrelson also traded rookie Bobby Bonilla to the Pittsburgh Pirates for pitcher José DeLeón in July 1986. Harrelson resigned his executive role with the White Sox on September 26, 1986. The 1986 Chicago White Sox finished the season with a record of 72–90. During the 1987 and 1988 seasons, Harrelson was the play-by-play announcer for New York Yankees games on SportsChannel New York.
From 1984 to 1989, he served as a backup color commentator on NBC's Game of the Week broadcasts alongside play-by-play man Jay Randolph. In 1994, Harrelson served as a broadcaster for the short-lived Baseball Network and was the US broadcaster for the Japan Series. Harrelson returned to the White Sox in 1990 as the main play-by-play announcer during television broadcasts, teaming up with Tom Paciorek until 2000 and Darrin Jackson from 2000 to 2008.
In 2009, former Chicago Cubs color analyst Steve Stone began accompanying Harrelson in the television booth. During this time he won five Emmy Awards and two Illinois Sportscaster of the Year awards. However, in 2010, GQ magazine named Harrelson the worst broadcaster in baseball. Starting with the 2016 season, Harrelson cut back his schedule to road games and select home games. Jason Benetti took over as the television announcer for most home games.
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