DETROIT – Local 4's Carmen Harlan is lucky enough to have worked alongside legendary Detroit sportscaster Al Ackerman, who died at age 90 this week.
Harlan said Ackerman forever will be part of Detroit folklore, and it's not just for his "Bless You Boys" phrase.
He’s one of those legendary sportscasters. He was fair but he was tough and coaches expected tough questions from Al. Getting a 'Bless You Boys' from Al was a ringing endorsement," she said.
Ackerman had a 25-year TV career in Detroit. He was part of the WDIV team in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He also worked for WXYZ. He died Tuesday at his home in Florida.
Attached is an interview Ackerman did with Donald B. Canham back in 1984 when Canham was athletic director at the University of Michigan. The short, but amusing, interview showcases exactly what Harlan is talking about when it came to Ackerman being tough on coaches.
This wasn't an interview with a coach, but Ackerman made some comments to the athletic director about coach Bo Schembechler's 6-5 (5-4 Big Ten) Wolverines who had just been awarded a trip to the Holiday Bowl where they faced BYU. Canham deferred a question about "who changed Bo's mind."
Canham: "Oh, you'll have to ask Bo."
Ackerman: "He said the same thing about you."
Canham: "Why don't you and I sit down and have a drink?"
It appeared to be all in good fun as the two had a good chuckle. Canham had been defending his team's acceptance to a bowl game, which the Wolverines ended up losing.
"We've got a good team. We played five teams in the top 10 this year. We had the toughest schedule in the country and we played some pretty tough. We played a good game against Ohio (State). Our kids deserve another shot, sure," he said.