Bob Murphy | |
|---|---|
 Murphy in front of the radio booth at Shea Stadium named in his honor. (The radio booth at Citi Field is identically named.) | |
| Born | (1924-09-19)September 19, 1924 Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Died | August 3, 2004(2004-08-03) (aged 79) West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. |
| Occupation | Broadcaster |
| Years active | 1954–2003 |
| Known for | Broadcaster for theNew York Mets |
Robert Allan Murphy (September 19, 1924 – August 3, 2004) was an American sportscaster who spent 50 years doingplay-by-play ofMajor League Baseball games on television and radio. He was best known for announcing theNew York Mets, from their inception in 1962 until his retirement in 2003. He was honored by theBaseball Hall of Fame with theFord C. Frick Award in 1994.
Murphy was born inTulsa, Oklahoma, in 1924.[1]
Murphy made his first appearance in a baseball broadcast booth with theminor leagueMuskogee Reds. His first major league job was with theBoston Red Sox in1954, working alongsideCurt Gowdy. In1960, he moved to theBaltimore Orioles for two seasons, replacingErnie Harwell.
Murphy's call ofRoger Maris' record-tying 60thhome run of the1961 season became an audition tape that landed him a job with theexpansionNew York Mets in1962.[2]
Murphy's broadcasts were known for his optimistic outlook. He would rarely be critical of players and would always strive to emphasize the positive. According toGary Thorne, who was his partner in the Mets radio booth from 1985 to 1988, Murphy felt that, "the game was to be enjoyed and he sought out the joy in that day's game to bring to the fans."[3]
Murphy, despite his long association with the Mets, never openly rooted for the team from the booth. Listeners knew that he was happier when the Mets won, as evidenced by his mention of a "happy recap" after a Mets win and a "recap" after a Mets loss, but he never referred to the Mets as "we" and, reflecting his love of the game, he would sound equally excited when a good play was made against the Mets as he would when the Mets made a similar play.
Murphy was well known for his sunny outlook. He opened games saying "the sun is shining, the sky is blue, it's a beautiful day for baseball.” Because of this, an unprecedented display of crankiness on his part received much attention. On July 25, 1990, inPhiladelphia, the Mets took a 10–3 lead into the ninth inning. But therivalPhillies opened the inning with seven consecutivesingles, followed by awalk, and scored six runs to narrow the Mets lead to one run before the Mets were able to turn adouble-play and get aline drive out. Murphy's patience was apparently worn thin by the longinning. When the game finally ended, he famously exclaimed, "A line drive caught. The game is over. The Mets win it. A line drive toMario Díaz. And the Mets win the ballgame! They win the damn thing by a score of 10 to 9!"[2] The use of off-color language was so out of character that it was frequently cited as one of his more memorable moments following Murphy's retirement from the booth in2003 and later when the Mets honored him after his death in2004.[2]
Murphy occupied the broadcasting booth in every stadium in theNational League, includingJack Murphy Stadium inSan Diego, which was named after his brother,Jack, a popular San Diegosportswriter.
From the Mets' first game in 1962 through the post-Tom Seaver days of 1978, on radio and television, the Mets games were announced by the trio of Murphy, along withLindsey Nelson andRalph Kiner. Nelson left after the 1978 season and was replaced bySteve Albert. Albert broadcast the Mets for three seasons.
Prior to 1982, the Mets announcers had done television and radio on a rotational system. While two were on TV, the other would take over on radio.
However, in 1982, Murphy was taken out of the television booth, in order to announce the games on radio only. He was joined bySteve Lamar, who also strictly did radio for the Mets. Murphy became known for "painting the word picture;” play-by-play of baseball on radio requires broadcaster to be able to inspire the listener's imagination, which Murphy was cited as doing well. For the rest of his career, with the exception of occasional fill-in duty on the TV side, Murphy announced exclusively from the radio booth.
Murphy was inducted into theNew York Mets Hall of Fame in 1984. He was paired withGary Thorne from 1985 to 1988, and Thorne was his broadcast partner for his memorable call ofBill Buckner's error in Game 6 of the1986 World Series.Gary Cohen—the current TV voice of the Mets and Murphy's longest tenured partner after Kiner and Nelson—shared the booth with him from 1989 through his 2003 retirement.
In 1994, Bob Murphy was honored by theBaseball Hall of Fame as a recipient of the prestigiousFord C. Frick Award. There is a display about Murphy in theBaseball Hall of Fame and Museum, as there is for former Mets partner Nelson, who had also won the award.
In 1995, Murphy briefly returned to television forNBC Sports, his first network broadcasts, calling regional action involving the Mets several times as part ofBaseball Night in America.
He was voted into theNational Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame in 2002.
In addition to his baseball work, Murphy was an announcer for theNew York Titans (renamed the New York Jets) of theAmerican Football League in 1962–63, and called somecollege football later in that decade.
He also broadcast minor league hockey and college football in his nativeOklahoma. He was the voice of theOklahoma Sooners during their 47-game winning streak during the 1950s.[2]
Murphy also broadcast several Orange Bowl games in the 1980s on network radio.[4] In addition, from September 17, 1973, through April 5, 1974, Murphy hosted the New York City edition ofBowling for Dollars, onWOR-TV.[5][6]
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| Bob Murphy was honored alongside theretired numbers of theNew York Mets in 2023. |
In his later years, Murphy (a smoker) began having trouble calling games due to persistent throat inflammation. After the2003 season, he left the broadcast booth and retired toFlorida. He died oflung cancer August 3, 2004 inWest Palm Beach. After his death, the Mets honored Murphy's memory by wearing a patch on the left sleeve of their uniforms for the rest of the2004 season. The Mets honored Murphy with a large plaque adorning the outfield wall ofCiti Field, next to that of his long-time broadcast partner Ralph Kiner's in April 2023.[7]
