Ken Harrelson accepts Ford C. Frick AwardDaryl Van Schouwenon July 25, 2021 at 8:02 pm

MILWAUKEE — Ken Harrelson entered the broadcast wing of the Hall of Fame with a colorful speech — of course it was — extolling the virtues of the game that was his life for parts of eight decades and expressing thanks to the people who mean the most to him, none more than his family.

“I’ve had a great career and I’ve been blessed,” Harrelson said. “I was a great athlete and I had some great help in the booth.”

Harrelson, the recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award, presented annually to a broadcaster for “major contributions to baseball,” broadcast games for 42 years, 33 for the Sox, after a nine-year playing career.

“Baseball is a game of memories and heroes,” he said.

“The beauty of the game is the game itself. It’s the most beautiful game we have ever seen. Not played against a clock and the defensive team controls the ball. Somebody wrote that Vin Scully was a play-by-play guy who told stories and wrote that Hawk Harrelson was a story teller who did play-by-play.”

Harrelson hailed Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, who was in attendance, as the best owner in sports. He asked his wife Aris, one of 23 family members including his children and grandchildren who accompanied him to Cooperstown, to stand up.

“Want to tell you about my heroes and there is one right there, my beautiful wife Aris,” Harrelson said.

Harrelson concluded with his favorite toast.

“I gave this at Arnold Palmer’s 80th birthday,” Harrelson said. “He said, ‘thank you, Hawk.’

“When you take a man’s money, you take a man’s money. But when you take a man’s time, you take a part of his life. And I want to thank you all for all of parts of eight decades for your time. Thank you very much.”

Harrelson was the 2020 Ford C. Frick Award winner. Also honored Saturday, in a TV-only event staged at an opera theater about 15 minutes from the Hall of Fame that was aired Sunday: 2021 winner Al Michaels, Baseball Writers Association Career Excellence winners Dick Kaegel and Nick Cafardo and 2020 Buck O’Neil Lifetime Achievement Award winner David Montgomery.

The Hall of Fame induction ceremony honoring the 2020 class of Derek Jeter, Marvin Miller, Ted Simmons and Larry Walker is Sept. 8 in Cooperstown.

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