April 16, 2009
Gracelander Merle Harmon Passes Away at Age 82; he was a Sports Broadcasting Legend
By Randy Meline
Gracelanders mourn the passing of an alumnus who was known as one of the world's busiest and most recognizable radio and TV sportscasters from the 1960s to the 1990s. Merle Harmon, Class of 1947, passed away Wednesday, April 15, in Arlington, TX. He was 82.
Merle was a faithful friend to Graceland. He served on the Board of Trustees for 12 years and he shared his unique expertise with his alma mater on many occasions, most recently as the host for a Graceland Forever Capital Campaign DVD. He served as Chairman of the Over the Top Capital Campaign in 2002. He frequently attended Homecomings and he often put his skills to work at SPECTACULAR, the annual Community of Christ extravaganza for high school youth that takes place each summer on our Lamoni campus.
He had been hospitalized for two weeks and died of complications stemming from pneumonia at Arlington Memorial Hospital. Graceland President John Sellars noted Merle's passing with sadness. "He was a great man and a great friend to Graceland," Sellars said. "All Gracelanders extend their sympathy to Merle's family."
Merle traveled the world for 45 years broadcasting some of the most famous events in sports history. During a 35-year career as a play-by-play man for Major League Baseball, he was the voice of the Kansas City A's, Milwaukee Braves, Minnesota Twins, Milwaukee Brewers and the Texas Rangers. Analysts often refer to Merle as one of the best play-by-play men ever to hold a microphone - perhaps the best radio/football play-by-play man. Merle brought his play-by-play for football, baseball and basketball games right into your living room. He sat down with you on the couch and shared your potato chips, and he made his radio listeners/then TV viewers a part of the action. And, they loved him for it.
He liked to talk about how his love for Graceland and his time here set the tone for his life. He came to GU on the GI Bill (like so many other guys) after a stint in the Navy (1944-46) where he saw action in the Pacific. He was helmsman on one of the big LST flat-bottomed boats and did three landings at Okinawa, ducking Kamikaze attacks. "They were good boats because torpedoes would just slide underneath an LST," he once recalled during an interview with Graceland's alumni magazine Horizons.
It was at Graceland, he said, that the greatest event of his life occurred. He met Jeanette Kinner (GU Class of 1948) one night at a reception in Walker Hall. He mused, "I saw this pretty girl standing next to the fireplace and that was that." They were married for 62 years. All five of their children attended Graceland.
As a world-class broadcaster Merle "was there" for many defining-moment stories, times when he knew he had just experienced a piece of history: a number of World Series, Olympics, the World Games in Moscow and a very famous Super Bowl. He was the voice of the New York Jets during the 1968-69 season when Joe Namath, at his cocky best, convinced his teammates they could take it all, and then amazed the world of sports by guaranteeing the Jets would beat the Colts in the Super Bowl. "It was an unbelievable atmosphere," Merle remembers. "The world was watching." Namath and the Jets did it and "That event really made the NFL," Merle recalled.
The night of August 7th, 1974 Merle was calling a football game on national television when the broadcast was interrupted and he was told to introduce the President of the United States. Richard Nixon came on and announced he would resign the next day - culminating the Watergate saga. "I bet not many sports announcers have done that," he recalled, laughing.
And he had one more anecdote he liked to tell, a good one. Merle was broadcasting on radio a clash between AFL heavyweights the Jets and Raiders in November 1968. With one minute remaining and the Jets leading 32-29, NBC TV went to commercial and then cut to begin a made-for-TV movie, Heidi. Millions of furious fans across the country flooded NBC's switchboard and many of them tuned-in Merle's radio broadcast. One of football's "Top 10 Most Memorable Games of the Century" came to a knuckle-biting conclusion after the Raiders scored twice on razzle-dazzle plays and won 43-32. "The Heidi game," chuckled Merle, reminiscing that experience. "That was quite a day."
Merle never really grasped the concept of retirement. He was always busy with this or that project. He reentered the international media limelight back in 2006 when he appeared in the hit Disney film Glory Road, starring Josh Lucas. You guessed it, he portrayed a sportscaster, this time calling the film's reenactment of the 1966 NCAA Championship basketball game between Texas Western and Kentucky. That was the fabled game that broke the race barrier in college basketball. Texas Western's five starting players were black. Merle said he really enjoyed that experience.
Gracelanders around the world have Merle in their thoughts as we celebrate his life and his devotion to his alma mater.
For More Information on Graceland University Athletics Contact:
Matt Shelton, Sports Information Director
(641) 784-5318
mshelton@graceland.edu
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