Ken “Hawk” Harrelson didn’t leave the White Sox telecast on good terms.
The 81-year-old retired after the 2018 season, but as he now says, it wasn’t his choice.
“I didn’t retire,” Harrelson said on the “Foul Territory” podcast with Scott Brown and former White Sox catcher AJ Pierzynski. I’m sure will deny it, but the story leading up to that and everything else will be interesting.”
In 2016, the White Sox hired Jason Benetti to call home games, while Harrelson handled street broadcasting.
At the time, Harrelson declared that he wanted to work another four years and reach his goal of working in baseball for over 80 years.
Instead, his time was cut as the team transitioned to his eventual successor, Benetti.
The 2020 Frick Award winner was awarded to Brocaster for “Outstanding Contributions to Baseball” and hinted at an upcoming book that will explore more aspects of his story.
Harrelson played 900 games in a nine-year MLB career that began with the Kansas City Athletics in 1963.
He spent time with the Washington Senators and the Boston Red Sox before joining the Cleveland Indians in 1969.
His time in the majors ended in 1971.
Midway through the season, he retired to pursue a professional golf career. Red was four years before he headed to the Sox broadcast booth.
Harrelson became a member of the White Sox Broadcast in 1982 and later became the club’s vice president of baseball operations.
He returned to Booth in 1977-78, playing play-by-play for the Yankees on the New York Sports Channel, before returning to the White Sox in 1990.
