Ken Harrelson Biography

Ken Harrelson (Kenneth Smith Harrelson) is an American former professional baseball All-Star first baseman and outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB). He is nicknamed “The Hawk” due to his distinctive profile. He is most known for his 33-year tenure as a broadcast announcer for the Chicago White Sox.

Ken Harrelson Age

Ken Harrelson was born on September 4, 1941, in Woodruff, South Carolina United States. He is 81 years old as of 2022.

Ken Harrelson Height

Harrelson stands at a height of 6 feet 2 inches tall.

Ken Harrelson Parents / Family

Ken Harrelson’s parents divorced when he was eight years old. When he was a child he played basketball and he hoped to pursue a basketball scholarship from the University of Kentucky.

Ken Harrelson Wife | Divorce

Ken Harrelson first married Aris Harritos in 1973 whom he stayed with until their divorce of which we don’t know but we will update you in due time. He filed for divorce from Betty on June 28, 1971. He met his wife while he was still in high school. He then entered into another relationship with another lady Elizabeth Ann Pacifici whom he married in 1971. On September 13, 1973, he married Aris Harritos.  They have two children, daughter Krista, and son Casey, as well as two grandchildren, Nico and Alexander.

Ken Harrelson Net worth

Ken Harrelson earns his income from his businesses and from other related organizations. He also earns his income from his work as a professional baseball. He has an estimated net worth of $ 5 million dollars.

Ken Harrelson Salary

Harrelson earns an estimated salary of about $10000-$50000 annually.

Ken Harrelson Professional baseball All-Star first baseman and outfielder

Ken Harrelson began his baseball career while he was still in college. His time with the Athletics ended abruptly in 1967 when Harrelson was quoted in a Washington newspaper calling team owner Charlie Finley “a menace to baseball” following the dismissal of manager Alvin Dark.

Although he denied using the word “Menace”, and was released and ended up signing a lucrative deal with the Boston Red Sox, who were in contention to win their first pennant since 1946. He was Brought in to replace the injured Tony Conigliaro, Harrelson helped the team win the pennant but watched the team drop the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.

During spring training the following year, Harrelson suffered a broken leg while sliding into second base during a March 19 exhibition game against the Oakland Athletics. After retiring from baseball, Harrelson competed in the 1972 British Open. Harrelson’s son Casey played in the White Sox minor league system in 1999.

Ken Harrelson Batting glove legend

Ken Harrelson threw a batting right-handed, and a credit invention the batting glove by wearing a golf glove while at-bat with the A’s; however, Peter Morris’ book A Game of Inches says the batting glove may have been used as early as 1901 by Hughie Jennings and was definitely used by Lefty O’Doul and Johnny Frederick of the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1932, and later by Bobby Thomson in the 1950s. Morris does credit Harrelson with reintroducing and popularizing the batting glove in the 1960s. Roger Maris also used what was thought[by whom?] to be a batting glove, most likely a golf glove, in the 1961 season.

Ken Harrelson General manager and broadcaster

Ken Harrelson brought minimal links compensation over the next few years,[when?] Harrelson turned to a broadcasting career beginning in 1975 with the Red Sox on WSBK-TV partnering with Dick Stockton. From 1984 to 1989, he served as a backup color commentator on NBC’s Game of the Week broadcasts alongside play-by-play man Jay Randolph.

In 1994, he served as a broadcaster for the short-lived Baseball Network and was the US broadcaster for the Japan Series that aired through the Prime-SportsChannel regional networks. In 2009, former Chicago Cubs color analyst Steve Stone, who broadcast with the late Baseball Hall of Fame broadcaster Harry Caray and later Chip Caray, began accompanying Harrelson in the television booth.

In 2010, GQ named Harrelson and broadcast partner Steve Stone the worst pair of broadcasters in baseball. On May 31, 2017, he announced his final year in the broadcast booth will be the 2018 season. After calling his final game, a 6-1 loss to the crosstown rival Chicago Cubs, Harrelson officially retired from broadcasting on September 24, 2018.

Ken Harrelson He Gone, criticism and nicknames/ White Sox

Ken Harrelson had a Popular “Hawkisms” which include: “You can put it on the board! Yes! Yes! A bomb for” after a Sox home run, “He then went on!” and “Grabbed some bench!” after a strikeout of opposing player, and “Stretch!” with White Sox player hits a ball toward the outfield fence. He refers that the White Sox as “The good guys”.

He appears to have developed a dislike umpire with Joe West, who “In the past few years, had some problems with the White Sox.” The west had started a game of the night before but it called it out of due to rain after about a half inning of play. He exited the field after the eighth inning, he exclaimed, “Call your sons! Call your daughters! Call your friends! Call your neighbors! Mark Buehrle has a perfect game going into the ninth!”

He had a final ground ball of the game rolled towards the White Sox shortstop Alexei Ramírez, Harrelson called out “Alexei?!” As Ramirez completed the throw to the first baseman Josh Fields, shouted “Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! History!” Though some people did not like his lack of verbosity and obvious hometown boosterism at the concluding moment of the game, others felt the outburst of emotion captured exactly what they were feeling as the perfect game was sealed.

He said during the interview, “I hope to be broadcasting for the White Sox until I die.” He joked and said how he was going to die: in the White Sox broadcasting booth with his last words, “You can put it on the booooard…” He was honored with “Hawk Harrelson Night” by the Chicago White Sox for 25 years of broadcasting which was on Tuesday, June 8, 2010, vs. Detroit Tigers.

The White Sox had a T-shirt giveaway for Harrelson for the first 10,000 fans that came to the game. ” Although not a nickname, during the time when Greg Norton played for the Chicago White Sox between 1996 and 2000, Harrelson would add the line “Norton, You’re The Greatest” after “You can put it on the board! Yes! Yes!” when Norton hit a home run.