On September 25, 2003, the New York Mets honored their long-time broadcaster, Bob Murphy, with an on-field ceremony before their game with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Murphy was about to do what he loved one last time, broadcast a Mets’ game from the team’s radio booth at Shea Stadium. Murphy had been diagnosed with lung cancer, and would pass away less than a year later, on August 3, 2004.
In a sense, Murphy was an original Met, having joined the on-air crew for the inaugural 1962 season. He was teamed with Lindsey Nelson and former Pirates’ and Cubs’ slugger Ralph Kiner, who would be elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame in 1975. From 1962-1978, the three shared television and radio duties (they would rotate during the game, with two in the television booth and one in the radio booth). After the 1978 season, Nelson left the Mets for the San Francisco Giants.
Murphy and Kiner continued to do both radio and television through the 1981 season (Steve Albert had replaced Nelson for the 1979 season and did both as well). After the 1981 campaign, Murphy was assigned to radio only, and worked with Steve Lamar until 1985, when Gary Thorne replaced Lamar. Murphy and Thorne worked together until 1989, when current SNY play-by-play man, Gary Cohen, took over for Thorne and partnered with Murphy until the latter’s retirement after the 2003 season.
Murphy had a very positive, almost jovial style of broadcasting. He seldom criticized the Mets, although during much of his tenure, there was plenty to criticize. In an article in the New York Times in 2004, Murphy was quoted as crediting his upbeat style to Curt Gowdy, with whom he worked in his first major league broadcast booth, that of the Boston Red Sox in the 1950s. Murphy recalled that Gowdy said, ”Let’s announce like we’re friends, just talking to each other.”
Along with Kiner and Nelson, Murphy was a big part of my childhood. While there are many classic Murphy calls that led to his legendary “happy recaps”, here are a few that stand out:
October 25, 1986. Game Six of the World Series, bottom of the 10th inning. Notice how he lets the moment breathe.
October 27, 1986. Game Seven of the World Series as the Mets win it all.
July 25, 1990. The Mets win a game in Philadelphia, after almost blowing a seven-run, ninth inning lead. You’ll hear a familiar voice say, “And they win it on a line drive!”, to which Murphy takes uses that broadcaster’s now signature line, “Oh, wow!”.
Between the Mets and Red Sox, Murphy worked for the Baltimore Orioles. It was a call he made while with the Orioles that was instrumental in his getting the job with the Mets. From the above-cited article:
“He was hired in 1962 by the Mets’ owner, Joan W. Payson, after his two-year announcing stint with the Baltimore Orioles, and he was teamed with Ralph Kiner and Lindsey Nelson. It was a tape of his call of Roger Maris‘s 60th home run against the Orioles in 1961 that piqued Payson’s interest.”
It has been 19 years since we last heard a “happy recap” or about “puffy cumulus clouds.” Here is an MMO hat tip to someone who helped instill the love of baseball to a generation, the late Bob Murphy.
