Ernie Harwell Autographed Official Major League Baseball Inscribed HOF 1981. Ernie Harwell was a baseball broadcaster for over 50 years, spending most of his career with the Detroit Tigers. He is among the top 50 sportscasters of all time. Harwell died in 2010 at the age of 92. This official Major League baseball was hand signed and inscribed “HOF 1981″ by former MLB and Detroit Tigers play-by-play sportscaster, Ernie Harwell b. Harwell called plays for the MLB for 55 seasons, 42 of them for the Tigers. In addition to the Tigers, Harwell called games for the Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Giants and Baltimore Orioles. He won the 1981 Ford C. Frick award and was the only broadcaster to be traded for an active player. This signature includes authentication from PSA/DNA.