Bob Murphy
From SoSH
Robert Allan Murphy (September 19, 1924 - August 3, 2004) was a major league broadcaster for fifty years, forty of which he spent with the New York Mets.
Broadcasting Biography
Murphy broke into the majors with the Boston Red Sox in 1954, where he worked alongside Curt Gowdy. In 1960, he moved to Baltimore for two seasons before he won a job with the expansion New York Mets. Murphy was known for his objective broadcasts, never openly rooting for the Mets and showing equal excitement for good plays against the Mets as he did for good plays by the Mets. His disposition was typically sunny, always trying to emphasize the positive for his listeners. Murphy also called games for the New York Jets, then known as the New York Titans. He died of lung cancer in West Palm Beach, Florida shortly before his eightieth birthday.
Murphy received the Ford C. Frick Award from the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994. He was inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame in 1984.
Trivia
- Murphy broadcast from every stadium in the National League, including Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, which was named after Murphy's brother, a popular sportswriter in the area.
- A cranky Murphy was a rare sight; one frequently retold story was of a game in 1990 where the Mets led 10-3 in the bottom of the ninth at Philadelphia. After seven straight singles and a walk, scoring six runs, before the Mets finally turned a double play and got a third out on a line drive. Murphy famously exclaimed, "A line drive caught. The game is over. The Mets win it. A line drive to Mario Diaz. And the Mets win the ballgame! They win the damn thing by a score of 10 to 9!"
Further Reading
- Bob Murphy's biography at the Baseball Hall of Fame website
- Bob Murphy - Courtesy of Wikipedia
