DETROIT, May 4 (UPI) -- Hall of Fame Detroit Tigers baseball announcer Ernie Harwell died Tuesday at age 92, the Detroit Free Press reported.
The newspaper said Harwell died at his apartment in a Novi, Mich., retirement village after a yearlong battle with cancer, with his wife of 68 years, Lulu, at his side.
Harwell's death came eight months after he told fans he had a cancerous tumor near his bile duct and had been given only a short time to live.
In an interview with the Free Press at the time, Harwell said, "I'm ready to face what comes. Whether it's a long time or a short time is all right with me because it's up to my Lord and savior."
An emotional farewell appearance at Comerica Park in Detroit followed the announcement.
Harwell was the Tigers' broadcaster for 42 years, one of the longest runs ever for an announcer with the same major league club. All but 10 of them were on radio, where he developed a reputation as a low-key and intelligent analyst of the game.
He was inducted into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame in 1989.
