Sunday was a sad day for Tigers fans - not because the ball club posted its worst season record since 1996, but because a chapter closed in the team’s history.

Sunday’s 1-0 loss to the Blue Jays in Toronto capped the Tigers’ 2002 season and the broadcast career for the only voice anyone of our generation has equated with the Motor City ball club - that of Ernie Harwell.

Harwell didn’t say goodbye to the generations of fans who have tuned in to the voice of Tiger baseball for the last 42 years. The 84-year-old said, “Thank you.”

“Thank you for letting me be a part of your family. Thank you for taking me to the cottage up north, to the beach, the picnic, your workplace and your backyard. Thank you for sneaking your transistor under the pillow as you grew up loving the Tigers.”

But we thank you, Ernie Harwell.

Thank you for being a soothing constant during turbulent seasons and ball park moves. Thank you for sharing your love for America’s pastime with us. Thank you for being like a grandfather for those in our generation - a grandfather whose knee we could sit on as we heard the story of Tiger baseball.

Harwell called the plays for the Tigers since first sitting in the team’s broadcast booth in 1960. Before that he announced for the Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Giants and Baltimore Orioles.

Despite his start with other ball clubs, for more than 40 years Harwell has been to Tigers baseball what baseball has been to America.