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Bob Murphy (announcer)
Encyclopedia
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
games on television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
. The Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
n was best known for announcing the New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
, from their inception in 1962 until his retirement in 2003. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994.
Broadcasting career
Murphy made his first appearance in a baseball broadcast booth with the minor leagueMinor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
Muskogee Reds
Muskogee Reds
Muskogee Reds refers to three teams based in Muskogee, Oklahoma, USA. The first team played in the Missouri Valley League in 1905. The next played in the Western Association in 1917, and the third played in the Western Association from 1937 to 1942, and from 1946 to 1950...
. His first major league job was with the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
in , working alongside Curt Gowdy
Curt Gowdy
Curtis Edward "Curt" Gowdy was an American sportscaster, well known as the longtime "voice" of the Boston Red Sox and for his coverage of many nationally-televised sporting events, primarily for NBC Sports in the 1960s and 1970s.-Early years:The son of a manager for the Union Pacific railroad,...
. In , he moved to the Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
for two seasons, replacing Ernie Harwell
Ernie Harwell
William Earnest "Ernie" Harwell was an American sportscaster, known for his long career calling play-by-play of Major League Baseball games. For 55 years, 42 of them with the Detroit Tigers, Harwell called the action on radio and/or television...
.
New York Mets
Murphy's call of Roger MarisRoger Maris
Roger Eugene Maris was an American Major League Baseball right fielder. During the 1961 season, he hit a record 61 home runs for the New York Yankees, breaking Babe Ruth's single-season record of 60 home runs...
' record-tying 60th home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
of the season became an audition tape that landed him a job with the expansion
Expansion team
An expansion team is a brand new team in a sports league. The term is most commonly used in reference to the North American major professional sports leagues, but is applied to sports leagues worldwide that use a closed franchise system of league membership. The term comes from the expansion of the...
New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
in .
Broadcasting style
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 to Gary ThorneGary Thorne
Gary Thorne is a play-by-play announcer for ESPN and ABC, working Major League Baseball, College football and Frozen Four hockey contests. He is also the television play-by-play voice of the Baltimore Orioles...
, 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."
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.
Because he was so well-known for his sunny outlook, an unprecedented display of crankiness on his part received much attention. On July 25, 1990 in Philadelphia
Veterans Stadium
Philadelphia Veterans Stadium was a professional-sports, multi-purpose stadium, located at the northeast corner of Broad Street and Pattison Avenue, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex...
, the Mets took a 10-3 lead into the ninth inning, but rival Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
opened the inning with seven consecutive singles, followed by a walk, and scored six runs to narrow the Mets lead to one run before the Mets were able to turn a double-play and get a line drive
Line drive
In baseball, a line drive is a type of batted ball, sharply hit, and on a level trajectory. The threshold between a line drive and a fly ball can be subjective....
out. Murphy's patience was apparently worn thin by the long inning
Inning
Inning is a municipality in the district of Erding in Bavaria in Germany....
, and when the game finally ended, he 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!" The use of an expletive was so out of character that it was frequently cited as one of his more memorable moments following Murphy's retirement from the booth in and later when the Mets honored him after his death in .
Murphy occupied the broadcasting booth in every stadium in the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
, including Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, which was named after his brother, Jack
Jack Murphy (sportswriter)
Jack Murphy was a sports editor and columnist for the San Diego Union newspaper from 1951-1980 and the brother of New York Mets broadcaster Bob Murphy...
, a popular San Diego
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
sportswriter.
Broadcast partners
From the Mets' first game in 1962 through the post-Tom SeaverTom Seaver
George Thomas "Tom" Seaver , nicknamed "Tom Terrific" and "The Franchise", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched from 1967-1986 for four different teams in his career, but is noted primarily for his time with the New York Mets...
days of 1978, on radio and television, the Mets games were announced by the trio of Murphy, along with Lindsey Nelson
Lindsey Nelson
Lindsey Nelson was an American sportscaster best known for his broadcasts of college football and New York Mets baseball.-Early life and career:...
and Ralph Kiner
Ralph Kiner
Ralph McPherran Kiner is an American former Major League Baseball player and has been an announcer for the New York Mets since the team's inception. Though injuries forced his retirement from active play after 10 seasons, Kiner's tremendous slugging outpaced nearly all of his National League...
. Nelson left after the 1978 season and was replaced by Steve Albert
Steve Albert
Steve Albert is a sportscaster. He has served as a play-by-play announcer for the New Jersey Nets, New Orleans Hornets, Golden State Warriors, New York Mets, and Cleveland Cavaliers...
. Albert broadcast the Mets for three seasons.
Prior to 1982, the Mets announcers had done television and radio on a rotational system. When one was on TV, another would take over on radio, and the other would take a three inning break. As a general rule, the Mets did not have two men in the broadcasting booth, as is so common today.
After 1981
However, in 1982, Murphy was taken out of the television booth, in order to announce the games on radio only. He was joined by Steve Lamar, who also strictly did radio for the Mets. Murphy became known for "painting the word picture;" many say that play-by-play of baseball on radio requires a lot more skill than baseball on television, because on radio, the broadcaster must be able to inspire the listener's imagination. For the rest of his career, with the exception of emergency situations, Murphy announced exclusively in the radio booth. Left to turn his attention strictly to the radio listener, Murphy thrived.In 1994, Bob Murphy was put into the Baseball Hall of Fame as a recipient of the prestigious Ford C. Frick Award
Ford C. Frick Award
The Ford C. Frick Award is presented annually by the National Baseball Hall of Fame in the United States to a broadcaster for "major contributions to baseball." It is named for Ford Christopher Frick, former Commissioner of Major League Baseball...
. There is a display about Murphy in the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, as there is for former Mets partner Nelson, who had also won the award. In addition to this honor, Murphy was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame
New York Mets Hall of Fame
The New York Mets Hall of Fame was created in 1981 to recognize the careers of former New York Mets players, managers, broadcasters and executives. There are presently 25 members...
in 1984.
Other broadcasting areas
In addition to his baseball work, Murphy was an announcer for the New York TitansNew York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
(renamed the New York Jets) of the American Football League
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
in 1962-63, and called some college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
later in that decade.
He also broadcast minor league hockey and college football in his native Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
. He was the voice of the Oklahoma Sooners
Oklahoma Sooners
The University of Oklahoma features 19 varsity sports teams. Both men's and women's teams are called the Sooners, a nickname given to the early participants in the land rushes which initially opened the Oklahoma Indian Territory to non-native settlement. They participate in the NCAA's Division I-A,...
during their 47-game winning streak during the 1950's.
Murphy also broadcast several Orange Bowl games in the 1980s on network radio. In addition, in 1973, he hosted the New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
edition of Bowling for Dollars
Bowling for Dollars
Bowling for Dollars is a television game show on which people could play the sport of bowling to win cash and sometimes prizes based on how well they bowled....
, a locally-produced game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
, on WOR-TV.
Retirement
In his later years, Murphy (a smoker) began having trouble calling games due to persistent throat inflammation. After the season, he left the broadcast booth and retired to FloridaFlorida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. He died of lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
August 3, 2004 in West Palm Beach
West Palm Beach, Florida
West Palm Beach, is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and is the most populous city in and county seat of Palm Beach County, the third most populous county in Florida with a 2010 population of 1,320,134. The city is also the oldest incorporated municipality in South Florida...
. After his death, the Mets honored Murphy's memory by wearing a patch on the left sleeve of their uniforms for the rest of the season.