Ken "Hawk" Harrelson
THIS MUCH I KNOW | 66 | WHITE SOX BROADCASTER
I grew up listening to Harry Caray every night before bed in Savannah, Ga. He was on KMOX, the only station we could get baseball games. I'd listen to Harry and Joe Buck and fight off mosquitoes because we had big holes in our screens.
In 1971, the Cubs wanted me to come over there and play, but I made up my mind. I wanted to retire and concentrate on playing golf.
I got to play in the British Open and won some celebrity tournaments. But when I was out there trying to make it in the PGA, I had such a bad temper, I had no chance. I'd go out with 14 clubs in my bag and come back with three or four. You can't beat those guys with three or four clubs.
(Chris Sweda/Sun-Times)
I haven't broken a club in 25 years.
The greatest compliment I've ever been paid was by manager Alvin Dark. He said of all the players he's ever managed, the guy who would do anything to win a game more than anybody is Ken Harrelson.
Some players don't agree with the idea that fans have the right to boo. Fans do have a right to boo.
I was the White Sox general manager in 1986. I can tell you being a general manager is the worst job in baseball. No question about it.
I've called 4,500 ball games -- at least.
I was blessed to know Howard Cosell and Curt Gowdy. In separate conversations, they both told me the same thing -- don't ever try to please everybody. And I don't. My detractors? I've been around too long to let it bother me.
Put it on the boooard . . . Yes! just evolved. I was playing a PGA tournament and birdied a tough par 3. The guy working the scoreboard was reading a book, so I yelled, "Hey, put it on the board." One day at the old ballpark, somebody hit a home run and I said, "You can put it on the boooard . . . Yes." That's where it came from.
He gone! Grab some bench! Can-o-corn. All the phrases from my baseball vernacular are things I said when I played.
Can-o-corn is an expression used by old storekeepers 60 years ago. They'd have aprons on and use a hook to pull the can of corn off the shelf and catch it in their aprons. Easy catch.
The Cubs-Sox rivalry is huge. I get goosebumps just thinking about teeing it up.
Lou Piniella is one of my dear friends. I just want to kick his ass.
Piniella probably knows more about hitting than anyone on the planet. He's a hard-nosed son of a b- - - -. He loves to compete. He'd fight ya in a heartbeat.
Ozzie Guillen is one of the most powerful personalities of any manager I've ever seen. We wouldn't have won this World Series ring without him.
Making it to the World Series in 1967 was the greatest thrill in my sporting life. We lost in seven games.
Up until '05, I never really realized the difference of winning a World Series to losing a World Series. My wife asked me which was better, '67 or '05. I got to tell you, it's '05. The difference is immense.
I've been married for 35 years. My wife saved my life.
When you marry a Greek, you don't get much of a say about marriage. I haven't seen a paycheck in 35 years.
When I say, "This ball game is ovaah," that means we won.