Ask Ken “Hawk” Harrelson how he’ll want to be remembered, and he does not hesitate.
“As the biggest homer in the history of broadcasting,” Harrelson told the Sun-Times.
Harrelson, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a Ford C. Frick Award winner in 2020, will take all the guff you can dish out for being a White Sox fan.
“Because I was with the fans,” he said. “I didn’t broadcast with the team; I was right there with the fans.”
Harrelson, 83, whose last game as a broadcaster was a 6-1 loss to the Cubs on Sept. 24, 2018, said he still receives fan mail — he has boxes full right now that need attention — and some of it includes letters chiding him for being a homer.
“That doesn’t bother me one bit; I wanted our club to win,” he said. “And when somebody was horses— and without saying ‘horses—,’ I wanted them to know things could be a lot better or they stunk, one of the two. The fans know when somebody is good, mediocre or horses—.”
Harrelson’s love and passion for the Sox were made clear to everyone who watched at least one of his broadcasts during his 33 years in the team’s booth (out of 42 in broadcasting), which followed careers as a baseball player, golfer and Sox general manager. But if his viewing habits in the upcoming season are anything like 2024, ‘‘Judge Judy’’ and ‘‘Walker, Texas Ranger,’’ two of his can’t-miss shows, will be on his docket more than his favorite team.
He is not alone. Harrelson is not unlike the thousands of elderly fans and shut-ins whose summertime nightly entertainment is the Sox game on TV.
“I have good days and bad days,’’ Harrelson said. “If I get up too quick from sitting down, I get a little dizzy. Doctors say take about 10 or 15 seconds, then go ahead and get up. I got no kick. I’m 83, but if you put a speedometer on my [butt], I’m about 104 with all my body has been through and the [stuff] my body has been through.”
Harrelson, a colorful, bigger-than-life character with a thousand stories to tell, laughs when he says that.
He has wanted to cry watching his favorite team in recent years, though. He fumes over bad defensive plays. And those old enough to remember Minnie Minoso, Nellie Fox, the “Go-Go” Sox who went to the World Series in 1959 and the 2005 team that broke an 88-year world-championship drought are fuming and tuning out with him. Many say they are turning away after a 101-loss season in 2023 was followed by 121 defeats, a modern-era record, last season.
Harrelson admits to turning off the TV more than ever while the Sox were plunging below the expansion 1962 Mets.
“With the talent we ran out there, we could have lost 125,” Harrelson said.
“I didn’t watch them that much. If a team is losing a lot and they’re busting their behinds, that’s one thing. But if you’re a bad defensive team, and we’ve had some bad defensive clubs, you know that. . . . If you give them 30 outs, you’re going to get your [butt] kicked. You have outfielders who can’t catch the ball or who throw to the wrong bases. . . . We’ve had one of the worst defensive clubs I’ve seen.”
The Sox ranked 24th in fielding percentage and were last in numerous categories, including minus-86 defensive runs saved. The Athletics were next-to-last at minus-57.
For Harrelson, it could be worse. He said he made the fielding play of his life when he scooped up Aris, who gave him his kids and grandchildren.
“I am one of the luckiest guys to set two feet on the face of the earth,” he said. “I have been blessed with a lot of talent as an athlete, and I have been blessed with a wife, now 52 years, kids and four grandkids. I couldn’t ask for anything more. And we’re a very close family.
“When you’re an athlete, you’re never home. The mother, father and go-to person is the wife, and she has been there the whole time. People congratulate me for having a great family, and I say it wasn’t me, it was Aris. I was either working or playing golf, so I was never home. I’ve been lucky. The Lord has blessed me with everything you can ask for.
“I always say our prayer before dinner or lunch, and I give thanks in front of our kids when they’re there. There might be wives as good as Aris, but there is none better.”
Maybe Harrelson should pray for his beloved Sox, too. As pitchers and catchers report to spring training Feb. 12, it’s good to know he is still in good hands.