Ernie Harwell

Ernie Harwell

Ernie Harwell, the voice for the Tigers for more than four decades and an icon for the Tigers well beyond his retirement from broadcasting in 2002, has been diagnosed with cancer. Harwell has an incurable tumor around his bile duct. He revealed the diagnosis in Friday's edition of the Detroit Free Press, for whom he has worked as a columnist for several years, and where he explained his outlook. Gary Spicer, his longtime friend and attorney, confirmed the condition to MLB.com. "We don't know how long this lasts," Harwell told the newspaper in a phone interview. "It could be a year. It could be much less than a year, much less than a half a year. Who knows? "Whatever's in store, I'm ready for a new adventure. That's the way I look at it."

Harwell, 91, was hospitalized for a few weeks with a bile duct obstruction. He returned to his home in suburban Detroit while doctors ran tests and was under orders to rest, though he still remained pretty active with his work, he told MLB.com recently, as he awaited news on what was causing the trouble. The tests soon revealed the tumor and the outlook, and provided "pretty conclusive" evidence, Spicer said. Harwell's spirit, however, has remained surprisingly strong. "I think that when I heard the news -- that I had this cancer -- that I had a feeling of security and serenity," Harwell told the Free Press, "but I had a feeling of acceptance because of my belief in Jesus and the Lord." Spicer said Harwell has elected not to undergo any surgery, nor chemotherapy or any radiation treatment. He will remain at home and spend time with family and friends.

Harwell's life and his ability to remain incredibly active into his 90s has become an example for people across the state through his role as a spokesperson for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. He has long credited his daily workouts, including walking and jumping rope, for helping him work for so long on Tigers radio broadcasts and defy the conventional limitations of his age well after he left the baseball airwaves. Until this year, Spicer said, "aside from taking a thyroid pill, I haven't been aware of any medical needs. He's been in fantastic medical condition, and his way of life has been conducive to good health." Now that Harwell has received a worst-case prognosis, he has been forced to cut back on a lot of those activities. He will close out his spokesperson engagements shortly and will write three more columns in the Free Press this month.