White Sox Announcer Hawk Harrelson To Retire After 2018 Season; Which Calls Will You Miss?

CHICAGO, IL — The days of long-tenured sports announcers who become "the voice" of their local team are becoming a thing of the past, joining the scheduled baseball doubleheader as relics of a bygone era. Count Chicago White Sox sportscaster Ken Harrelson among those ranks that, over the years, have included Jack Buck with the St. Louis Cardinals; John Sterling, Michael Kay and Phil Rizzuto with the New York Yankees; Vin Scully with the Los Angeles Dodgers; and of course, the legendary Harry Caray with the crosstown rival Chicago Cubs. "The Hawk" — Harrelson's nickname as both a Major League Baseball player and announcer — will follow the recently retired Scully out of the TV broadcast booth, announcing Wednesday that 2018 will be his final season calling games for the White Sox, his uninterrupted home since 1990.

Harrelson will work a 20-game season next year — mostly calling Sunday home games — and he plans to spend his extra free time with wife Aris, his two grown children and his three grandchildren. In March, he told the Chicago Sun-Times that he was thinking of stepping down in 2020, but the attraction of more time with his family became too strong a force for Harrelson to resist. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for Homewood-Flossmoor. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

Homewood-Flossmoor native Jason Benetti, who began announcing Sox games last year and signed a multiyear deal with the team Wednesday, will see expanded play-by-play duties next season before becoming the exclusive play-by-play announcer in 2019, the team said.

While Harrelson, 75, will be giving up his time behind the microphone, he won't be giving up his relationship with the White Sox organization. He will be the team's ambassador for at least the 2019 season. In a statement announcing his retirement Wednesday, May 31, Harrelson thanked fans and the organization for their support over the years.

"It's never work when you come to a ballpark each day, and I have loved and appreciated every minute I have experienced in this great game," he said in the statement.

WATCH: A collection of some of Ken "Hawk" Harrelson's most famous game calls as the TV announcer for the Chicago White Sox:

Signing his first pro contract in 1959, Harrelson's baseball career will have spanned eight decades by the '19 season, and he's he had roles in almost every facet of the game, from player to front office management to broadcaster. He spent nine seasons in the majors as a first baseman and outfielder from 1963 to '71, playing for the Kansas City Athletics, the Washington Senators, the Cleveland Indians and the Boston Red Sox, where he won an American League pennant in 1967.

After retiring as a player in the middle of the 1971 season to pursue a pro golf career, Harrelson returned to baseball as an announcer for the Red Sox in 1975. This led to becoming a White Sox broadcaster in 1982, a role he held until he was hired as the team's general manager in 1986.

Harrelson spent a less-than-illustrious year in that management capacity, with the White Sox posting a 72-90 record and finishing fifth in the American League West Division that season. His time in the team's front office also was notable for firing future Hall of Fame manager Tony LaRussa and trading then-rookie Bobby Bonilla to the Pittsburgh Pirates for pitcher Jose DeLeon, who spent a lackluster season and a half with the team. Bonilla would go on to become a six-time All-Star in the league.

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The born-and-bred Southerner who never let his time north of the Mason-Dixon Line rob him of his drawl returned to broadcasting in 1987, with stints as the announcer for the New York Yankees and the backup color commentator for NBC's weekly nationally televised games. In 1990, the White Sox welcomed back Hawk and he's been a broadcast staple with the team ever since.

As a sportscaster, Harrelson has built a reputation around his unapologetically "hometown-friendly" announcing style that has endeared supporters of the South Siders while annoying opponents' fans over his nearly 40 years at the microphone, 33 of them with the White Sox. He also has been a five-time Emmy Award winner, a two-time Illinois Sportscaster of the Year and a three-time Ford Frick Award finalist, which honors major baseball broadcasting achievements.

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But as his career winds down, Hawk Harrelson might well be remembered for two baseball contributions that have become so ubiquitous, so everyday, that their significance has gotten lost even in a sport obsessed with its own minutiae:

• In recent years, his distinctive catch phrases, such as "Winner, winner, chicken dinner," "He gone" and "You can put it on the board … Yes!" have been frequently referenced by ESPN anchors and other broadcasters, becoming a part of the shared sports lexicon of not only Chicago fans, but fans across the country.
• The White Sox and other sources credit Harrelson with introducing the batting glove to baseball. It's debatable whether he brought the accessory to the game or simply reintroduced its use, but Hawk's role in the development of the batting glove and the legend that continues to grow around it is worthy of the announcer's oversize persona.

"Hawk has left a lasting imprint on the game of baseball across what will be an amazing career in the game," White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said in a statement Wednesday, referring to Harrelson as "the famous voice of White Sox baseball." "His passion for the White Sox — and for the game of baseball — is apparent in every telecast he does. … There will never be another personality in the booth quite like Hawk Harrelson."

And that's why The Hawk has always been the pick to click for so many White Sox fans.

YOUR TURN: What's your favorite catch phrase, call or moment from White Sox TV announcer Ken "Hawk" Harrelson? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

Chicago White Sox TV announcer Ken "Hawk" Harrelson in 2012. (Photo by Nam Y. Huh | Associated Press)

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