Marking his 50th year in Major League Baseball, Chicago White Sox broadcaster and former All-Star player Ken Hawk Harrelson will be profiled in MLB Networks documentary Hawk: The Colorful Life of Ken Harrelson on Thursday, July 18 at 7:00 p.m. ET. In the hour-long special narrated by Bob Costas, Harrelson shares many stories of his meetings and relationships with famous baseball and sports figures, including how Hall of Fame boxer Rocky Marciano offered him a chance to fight former World Heavyweight Champion Sonny Liston at Fenway Park; that he twice turned down offers to be manager of the Boston Red Sox and assisted owner Dick OConnell in offering the job to Don Zimmer; and when Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath explained to him the night before Super Bowl III how the New York Jets were going to beat the Baltimore Colts.Harrelson recounts other stories about playing for Athletics owner Charlie Finley; the broadcasting advice he received from Curt Gowdy and Howard Cosell; what Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams thought of each others playing ability; his friendship with Mickey Mantle; meeting Hall of Fame NFL coach Vince Lombardi; and being encouraged to pursue professional golf by Jack Nicklaus.
Taped during May and June 2013 at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago and Harrelsons home in Granger, Indiana, the documentary features archival footage from Harrelsons playing career, his time as a general manager, his exploits in professional golf, his broadcasting career, as well as excerpts from the Harrelson-inspired song Dont Walk the Hawk by the Val Perry Trio. Throughout the special, Harrelson shares his thoughts on his broadcasting style, his favorite moment as a broadcaster, how the Hawk persona differs from his regular personality.
Harrelson has served as a television broadcaster for the Red Sox (1975-1981), White Sox (1982-1985, 1990-present) and the New York Yankees (1987-1988). As a player, Harrelson batted .239 with 131 home runs and 421 RBI over nine MLB seasons as a first baseman and outfielder with the Kansas City Athletics (1963-1966, 1967), Washington Senators (1966-1967), Red Sox (1967-1969) and Cleveland Indians (1969-1971). He was named an AL All-Star with the Red Sox in 1968 when he batted .275 with 35 home runs and an AL-leading 109 RBI. Aside from his playing and broadcasting career, Harrelson spent time as a professional golfer, competing in the 1972 British Open, and also served as general manager for the White Sox in 1986.
Highlights from Hawk: The Colorful Life of Ken Harrelson include:
Ken Harrelson on the broadcasting advice he received from Curt Gowdy and Howard Cosell:
They were both right, both right. You cannot please everybody, especially in a two-team city. Over the years, Ive had a lot of critics and Ive had a lot of love. Ill tell you what, obviously I love the love better, but I dont mind the critics.
Harrelson on turning down three manager jobs:
I turned down three managers jobs and thats the reason I turned them down: because my temper is not conducive to being a good manager at all.
Harrelson on how he made money early in his MLB career:
I think in 63, I was platooning. My first two years in the big leagues, I made more money playing golf, shooting pool and arm wrestling than I did in baseball.
Harrelson on how the Hawk character was developed during his time with the Red Sox:
The fans in Boston, I would say they really created Hawk. Yaz [Carl Yastrzemski] was a Triple Crown winner but Yaz didnt have that personality, ok? There were no personalities there. I think what happened was that the people were really looking for a personality and the Hawk saw that and let it come out, but that was only after he was there. They didnt create him, they just enhanced him in his situation, and I didnt mind it. I went right along with it.
Harrelson on spending time with Joe Namath the night before Super Bowl III:
Joe and I, at one time, were pretty tight. The night before they played the Colts, I was at the Palm Bay Club down in Miami. Joe and I were together and we were together until about one or so oclock in the morning. He was not drinking and I ask him, Joe, whats going to happen tomorrow? He says, Hawk, he said, Ill tell you whats going to happen tomorrow. He said, The Colts are in a zone. Theyre not going to change. Theyre not going to change what got them here. He said, Im gonna six- and eight-yard them to death and were going to win this ballgame. He [threw] four, six, eight, four, six, seven [yards]. Midway through the first quarter, you knew the Jets had a good chance of winning and they beat them.
Harrelson on the rivalry between Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio:
Ted Williams and I are having dinner. This is after Im retired, Im broadcasting now, and Ted comes down to Spring Training. Were talking, and [of] all the 150 hours we talked on hitting, I never talked to him about DiMaggio. Finally, I said, Tell me about DiMaggio, because they didnt like each other at all. I said, Ted, tell me about that trade where DiMaggio was going to come to Fenway. Youre going to go to Yankee Stadium with that little short porch out there. He says, To hell with Yankee Stadium. He said, Put me in Detroit. I said, Well, how many home runs would you have averaged in Detroit? He said, 75 a year, and you got to believe him. I said, Well, tell me about DiMaggio. He goes, Hes the best right-handed hitter I ever saw. I had never talked with Joe about baseball. This is amazing. I said, Joe, tell me about Ted Williams and that trade [where] you were going to go to Fenway and he was going to go to New York. I said, How many home runs would you have averaged in Fenway? He said, Probably around 70 a year, but you got to believe him. I said, Well, tell me about Ted. He goes, Hes the best left-handed hitter I ever saw. Almost verbatim, the two of them.
Harrelson on his relations
