Ernie Johnson: A peach of an announcer, a prince of a man
Ernie Johnson salutes fans on his last night of work in 1999. (AJC photo by Ben Gray)
My esteemed and much-missed colleague George Cunningham said it best long ago: “Listening to Ernie is like slipping into an old shoe.” Skip Caray told the jokes and Pete Van Wieren gave us the stats, but Ernie Johnson Sr., the old pitcher and the nicest man who ever lived, pulled it all together.
That was the Braves’ broadcast team back in the day when the broadcast team was the best thing by far about the Braves. Having been a player himself, Ernie added a needed gravitas to the festivities, and I write that word knowing full well it’s misused. “Gravitas” implies weight, and there was never anything heavy about ol’ Ernie. He was sweetness and light.
His voice was a wondrous amalgam of New England — he was from Brattleboro, Vt. — and his beloved Crabapple, Ga. He would always call me “Mahhk,” accenting his pahk-the-cahr-in-Hahvahd-Yahd roots, but on the air he was pure magnolia. He’d come to Atlanta when the Braves decamped from Milwaukee, but it’s hard to imagine Ernie calling games for a team not based in the heart of the South.
The most famous Ernie-ism was, “We’re just zippin’ right along, folks.” (This to punctuate a ponderous game.) When the Braves were down, which was often, he’d say: “Let’s see if they can give us a finish.” And when, on that famous Saturday night — it was Aug. 13, 1983 — Bob Watson turned on a Steve Howe pitch and the Braves felled the hated Dodgers, Ernie’s call began: “Back toward that wall … ”
As a human being … well, there were none better. If Ernie uttered an unkind word, I never heard it. (And I was privileged to know him off the air.) Skip? OK, Skip uttered the more-than-occasional unkind word, and even Professor Pete had a sarcastic side. But Ernie was a Southern gentleman who just happened to have grown up in the North.
Ernie Johnson Sr. died at age 87 Friday night, his wife Lois at his side. Ernie had been in declining health for a while, and he’d just been moved to a hospice. The belief here is that Ernie is in a better place now. The belief — no, an absolute conviction — is that ol’ Ernie, in his time in this world, made it a better place.
By Mark Bradley
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192 comments Add your comment
Mark Bradley
August 12th, 2011
11:19 pm
No. It was 1983. Braves won 8-7 and it looked as if they’d take the NL West going away. Then Horner got hurt.
markmjtx
August 12th, 2011
11:25 pm
My thoughts and prayers go out to his family. I got to meet him after a spring training game in 1988. He treated me as if we were old friends and we had just met. He made time for other fans as well that day. A very special man who also served his country as a Marine.
69 Atlanta Brave...
August 12th, 2011
11:28 pm
We were sitting in club level on a Sunday afternoon, back in 1974, not to far from the Braves broadcast booth, it was old timers day, as soon as their game ended, I walked over to the door of the booth and waited and got both Milo & Erine’s autograph, they had been on the field doing the narration, and it was super hot, Milo looked like he, had a bucket of water dumped on his face & head, and Ernie, he looked like a million dollars.
markmjtx
August 12th, 2011
11:30 pm
Mr. Bradley, I wish I could say more, but your headline says it best.
Dave in Buford
August 12th, 2011
11:31 pm
Ernie Johnson was the voice on the transistor radio, on a summer’s evening when the cicadas were calling and the wind whispered in the pines. He was the sound of my youth when baseball was all there was. We’ve lost something we’ll never have again and I am sorry for it.
Jack in Macon
August 12th, 2011
11:44 pm
Ernie Johnson was just a wonderful announcer and listening to him you always got the feeling he was as you described as a human being. Thanks Mark for a walk down memory lane.
dawgforlife
August 12th, 2011
11:47 pm
..Milo Hamilton was an ego maniac. But, Ole Ern was all class. Fifty years from now Ernie Johnson will still be the most beloved voice of the braves. And your right, when it was Ern, Skip, and Pete, there was nothing like it before or since. I suddenly feel old…but, I have been missing Ernie Johnson for years. My prayers to his family.
bad brad
August 12th, 2011
11:48 pm
Well said; I think if you are young and want to know the kind of guy Ernie was, listen to Ernie Jr. There is a quiet elegance there that he obviously learned from a master…Ernie Sr was one of the good guys.
P-Man
August 12th, 2011
11:50 pm
Ernie will definitely be missed. One of my favorite broadcasters of all time. I’m sure he’ll let everyone in heaven know when “the ducks are on the pond”.
Vinings Dog
August 12th, 2011
11:54 pm
We all loved him and we all have many fond memories of Ernie. You could literally hear the “niceness” in his voice. In the 60’s I was with the Little League at a Braves’ game and I waved at him and he took the time to wave back. It made me feel important. Sir, you will be missed.
Mitchell
August 12th, 2011
11:59 pm
Ernie Johnson was by far my favorite announcer and the best.
He just always sounded like he was having fun.
Of course I came of age during the good years so I would have to imagine he enjoyed them as did I, as did all of us, even more.
John in Suwanee
August 13th, 2011
12:00 am
Terrible audio, but good to hear voice on this old tribute video: from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_QdmRq0WnU
My Dad, his greatest fan, preceded him to heaven by a few years. Heads up Dad! EJ’s on the way to rekindle those old memories. Ya’ll have fun reminiscing.
Bud
August 13th, 2011
12:00 am
My earliest memories of listening to Braves games was hearing Ernie and Milo Hamilton calling the games. Ernie was great to listen to and I learned a lot about the game from him. That other guy, well I’m glad he went somewhere else, even if he is in the HOF.
RIP, Mr. Johnson
JOutlaw
August 13th, 2011
12:01 am
Ernie Johnson should be honored with the Ford Frick Award.
Fan of the Game
August 13th, 2011
12:04 am
Ernie, Skip and Pete were the best and yes Mr. Ernie you were the leader and the captain. God Bless and we will really miss you. Thank you for all the great memories!
kreedham
August 13th, 2011
12:08 am
Well written. Thanks Mark!
Sage of Bluesland
August 13th, 2011
12:12 am
As many have said so eloquently, a beloved voice of my youth is gone and it makes me sad.
I stopped listening to the radio when that clownish buffoon Joe Simpson entered….It has never been the same since.
Thank you for the memories even during the bleakest of sporting times, Ernie.
Barry
August 13th, 2011
12:14 am
I never had the priviledge of listening to Ernie Sr but enjoyed listening to Ernie Jr. It’s sad it happened on the same night they retired #6. As if Bobby Cox didn’t have enough emotions to contend with on a joyous occasion, now he also must grieve for the passing of Ernie Sr.
jay
August 13th, 2011
12:21 am
What a pleasure he was to listen to. I remember sitting in the screened
in porch on a hot summer night listening to him on a 9volt battery transistor radio. Rest in Peace, Ernie.
tmc
August 13th, 2011
12:22 am
I went to the game tonight and had a great time. Uggla hit streak continued right away with an HR! 4 other homers and the game in hand, including Jorge Canstanza’s unlikely homer to win everyone a burrito at Moe’s!
We even had a meltdown by Carlos Zambrano, who i just read left the locker room and said he was retiring! (lmao) capped with a great fireworks show…
Then i get home and read about Ernie Johnson… man, what a downer. Ernie was a great announcer and seemed to be a just as great person. It sucks getting older and seeing our hero’s and people who brought us great joy pass on…
RIP EJ, you will be missed.
curtisjones
August 13th, 2011
12:24 am
I’ve known a lot of people in my life, and I’ve heard a lot of people on the radio. I met Ernie a couple of times (briefly) and listened to him thousands of times. There is no one I hold in any higher esteem. We were blessed to have him among us for so long.
I’m so thankful I have those early ’90s Braves season highlights specials. Ernie’s love for baseball and the Braves will never die.
Donna Flade
August 13th, 2011
12:38 am
He used to carry that net around with him even on the road…to catch foulballs…We used to meet him on the road as Califorina residents…San Francisco, LA,San Diego…My Uncle was the best. The times we spent with he and Aunt Lois in Florida were so special. So we sadly head for Atlanta to say goodbye…Quite frankly since I believe in an afterlife, he is with my parents and so many of their friends…doing the chacha in the living room. I love you, Ernie…until we meet again…xo
railman311
August 13th, 2011
12:56 am
Ernie,Skip an Pete will always be a part of my childhood that can never be taken away!!
Matt
August 13th, 2011
1:06 am
Goood night Ernie Sr, thanks for the memories from when I was just a little boy listening to the Braves with my grandmother.
Allen
August 13th, 2011
1:29 am
I enjoyed Ernie’s stories of the old days and the old ball players when he broadcast games. I can not count the number of times I listened to Ernie and Milo Hamilton doing the Braves games on radio. I loved his line “We’re just zipping along.” Rest in peace, Ernie Johnson. I am sure you will on in the hearts of many Braves fans. Condolences to the family.
Dawgwood
August 13th, 2011
2:15 am
Enter your comments here
Tron5000
August 13th, 2011
2:22 am
His voice is one of my most endearing childhood memories. I’ve missed the man very much since he left the booth, and I’m sure many people are missing him much more right now. I’m happy to think that he is freed from the burdens of this world and is in a much more glorious place.
Thad Mumau
August 13th, 2011
2:27 am
What kind words, Mr. Bradley … and much deserved. Ernie Johnson was a pleasure to hear doing Braves’ games — kind of the rock of a baseball team with lots of problems.
I had the privilege of speaking with Mr. Johnson once on the telephone. As it turned out, he was not feeling well, and although I could tell that by his voice, he was just as nice and kind as reputed to be by all the things I had heard and read.
I, too, believe in a better place and that Ol’ Ern is there.
Dawgwood cz
August 13th, 2011
2:31 am
Well writen Mark. Sklp, Pete, and Ernie were they best. Throw in Lewis and Larry and Lewis and all of they sudden it seems really lonely. Those were great radio and news days. Miss they day to day from them.
Prayers to EJ, jr. and them family.
Keep up the good work Mark!
Ted Striker
August 13th, 2011
3:59 am
Players and managers came and went. The fortunes of seasons rose (occasionally) and fell (usually). But the best part of being a Braves fan was having Ernie Johnson for so long. He’ll be missed however he’ll not be forgotten.
Whopper Dawg
August 13th, 2011
4:23 am
That broadcasting crew was the best, full of insight and humor as the Braves tumbled their way to another bad season. But they were our team and our crew, and they were on TBS every time they played and that was before the proliferation of sports every day on TV. I watched and others watched and they ratcheted right into our hearts. I teared up when I heard that Ernie was gone, and I am a crusty bastard. Ernie, and Skip, the best way to but it is they were a part of my life.
dean
August 13th, 2011
6:57 am
I wasn’t expecting to shed a tear this morning.
God bless you “Uncle” Ernie.
Donny
Netherlands Brave
August 13th, 2011
7:08 am
Now that Ernies gone I can’t think of anyone left from my beloved 1957 Milwaukee Braves except for Hank Aaron.
kudzu
August 13th, 2011
7:19 am
You helped me love the Braves…my home team…thank you Mr. Johnson!
kudzu
August 13th, 2011
7:20 am
And nicely said “railman311″
Brent in DC
August 13th, 2011
7:46 am
Remember Milo Hamilton & Ernie in the early days after the Braves’ move to Atlanta? Ernie was always the class half of that act. Glad he stuck around all these years. Thanks Ernie!
jals
August 13th, 2011
7:50 am
Thoughts and prayers to the Johnson family. Atlanta has lost a great one.
Bill Owens
August 13th, 2011
8:11 am
Enter your comments here
Great Braves win last night, milestones galore, Bobby Cox in the TV booth for the raising of #6, and I am all tears this morning. Along with other sentient human beings everywhere in Braves country, I feel I’ve lost a dearly beloved member of my own family. Through a mutual friend I got to meet Ernie, and play golf (horrible on my part) with him twice.
A man of outsized kindness, ‘Ol Ern was all light and no heat, as others are saying today. In the days EJ and Milo swapped radio and TV mics every few innings, I would follow Ernie by turning down the TV volume and listening on radio to Ernie, and verse-vica as EJ went to the TV booth.
He didn’t tell jokes, per se, but I will always remember and love the way, two-thirds of the way through the game, he would say to one of the guys, “Hey, my scorecard looks like a chicken walked on it,” and do a GREAT chicken–”bawk bkaauwwkk”–that would rival anything you heard on The Muppet Show.
Ave atque Vale, Old Right-Hander; you lived a beautiful life.
1eyedJack
August 13th, 2011
8:30 am
Fell in love with baseball listening to Ernie and Milo on the transistor radio back in the day when only 8 or 10 games were televised each year. And as we go to the bottom of the ninth it’s time to go get ‘em Braves. Godspeed Ern.
"And on this winning night...."
August 13th, 2011
9:02 am
Always will remember the excitement in Ernie’s call of the game where pitcher Rick Camp hit the home run that tied the game up w/ the Mets. That game went on until about 4 a.m., the fireworks awoke the surrounding neighborhood.
Robert Payne
August 13th, 2011
9:06 am
I remember Ernie coming to Thomasville in the 70’s-80’s selling Braves baseball to the local radio stations. I met him and he was one of the classiest gentlemen I have ever met. He along with Skip were the voices that you rode with every summer night. Great man with so much class. He will be missed.
Mark Bradley, great job on the column.
63 year Braves Fan
August 13th, 2011
9:11 am
I became a Boston Braves fan in 1948. Soon thereafter, Ernie pitched for my then beloved Milwaukee
Braves and was on their 1957 World Championship team. When inter-league play began in the 1990’s,
it gave a Connecticut resident like me the chance to see my beloved Atlanta Braves play the Red Sox
at Fenway Park. While walking to the park on Yawkee Way, I recognized Ernie outside chatting with some fans. When it was my turn I introduced myself as a long time Braves fan. He surprised me by
asking if I would like to meet some old time Braves Players who were attending a Braves, Red Sox
reunion. He introduced me to Tommy Holmes, Johnny Sain, Johnny Logan, and Alvin Dark. It was
a thrilling moment for me and I thanked Ernie for making it happen. What a great person and a native
New Englander. Rest in peace Ernie.
Am absolute legend
August 13th, 2011
9:12 am
Ernie Johnson, we will miss you big guy. As a kid growing up in Atlanta, Ernie was my absolute favorite. Always positive, and always a class act. My thoughts and prayers go out to all of the Johnson family. What a winner God created in Ernie Johnson. We can only hope to be as good a man and ambassador to the world. Good bye, Ernie. God is welcoming you with open arms.
"And on this winning night...."
August 13th, 2011
9:12 am
I remember Ernie’s excitement when Rick Camp hit the homerun against the Mets that tied it up into deep extra innings. That was around 1983. The game lasted until about 4:00am.
Fan of the Game
August 13th, 2011
9:18 am
My RC cola, a moon pie, my $8.00 transister radio, Braves baseball and Mr. Ernie Johnson, it didn’t get any better than that. Thank you Mr. Ernie for all the great memories.
Paul in NH (formerly RDU)
August 13th, 2011
9:18 am
Excellent column Mark – your feelings and admiration for Ernie come through.
RIP Ernie – one of the best.
maddawg913
August 13th, 2011
9:24 am
born in 65 with an older brother who had me listening to braves radio from the time I was old enough to know what was going on, I too share the sentiments of the childhood memories of so many who have posted here.
RIP Earnie you will be sorely missed!!!!!!!!!
ToccoaDawg
August 13th, 2011
9:30 am
Very nicely done MB. It is true that the broadcasters were the best part back in the 80s.
TDB
August 13th, 2011
9:45 am
I, as a boy in the 60’s, had baseball cards like everyone else…as an adult I still have a few…Hank Aaron, Mantle, Maris, Koufax,Drysdale and Ernie Johnson….RIP old friend I never met….
"And on this winning night...."
August 13th, 2011
9:45 am
I’ll remember Ernie’s excitement when pitcher Rick Camp hit the tying homerun in deep extra innings against the NY Mets…the game lasted until 4:00 in the morning. That was about 1982.