Where was Murphy born?

[Guest Edgy DC]

The UMDB leaves his birth field blank. I know he was born in Oklahoma, but that's as much as I can find out, and Oklahoma is a big place.

I think there's got to be a lot there worth knowing about --- a depression-era Oklahoma youth. Yet he and his brother were both still in Oklahoma to start their careers. Seeing as he was 30 when he got his first announcing job, I'm going to guess that he went to school on the GI Bill. For now I'm just trying to fill in the blank on the birthplace.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Broken Arrow, OK is the town associated with him, though not certain if was born tthere or just resided there.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I e-mailed the Hall of Fame to get his birthdate and birthplace (and Lindsey Nelson's as well) a few years ago. They replied with the birthdate but not the place. I don't know if it's because they didn't know or because they didn't read the e-mail carefully enough.

I don't recall it being mentioned in any of the obituaries I read either.

Maybe if you wrote to the HOF you'd get a better response than I did.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I can't find him on the official Broken Arrow website:

What a slice of middle America, though. Some great promtional language:

"Churches here are expanding and growing, not dying."

"So don't be surprised by the what you find in Broken Arrow -- or what you don't find!"

"Oklahoma's Safest City."

"The common thread which has developed over the past four decades of dramatic growth has been a demand for quality of life centered around the family."

[Benjamin Grimm]

I think I'd hate it there.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Well, that's because you don't appreciate that it's the hometown of buxom stage and screen star Kristin Chenoweth.

Or that the new gymnasium is nearer reality. Follow via the web cam.

How about that Saint Francis Hospital at Broken Arrow is one of the finest medical facilities in Northeastern Oklahoma, and professional buildings are being added to the hospital and physical therapy units? Not talking so big now, are you, Mr. East Coast Tough Guy?

[Benjamin Grimm]

Call me a New York snob, but calling it "one of the finest medical facilities in Northeastern Oklahoma" seems to me to be damning it with faint praise.

[seawolf17]

New York snob.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Hey! Who said you could call me a New York snob??

[Benjamin Grimm]

Bob Murphy's Wikipedia entry:

="Wikipedia"]Robert Allan Murphy (19 September 1924 – 3 August 2004) was an American sportscaster who spent 50 years doing play-by-play of Major League Baseball games on television and radio. Murphy made his first appearance in a broadcast booth with the Muskogee, Oklahoma Reds. His first major league job was with the Boston Red Sox in 1954, working alongside Curt Gowdy. In 1960, he moved to the Baltimore Orioles for two seasons. Murphy's call of Roger Maris' record-tying 60th home run of the 1961 season became an audition tape that landed him a job with the expansion New York Mets in 1962. Murphy remained in the Mets broadcast booth until his retirement in 2003. He joined long-time colleague Lindsey Nelson as a recipient of the Baseball Hall of Fame's Ford C. Frick Award in 1994. Murphy was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame in 1984. Among Bob Murphy's trademark calls were the following: "Well Hiiiiiii everybody, Bob Murphy, along with (insert co-announcers' names)." "Here to paint the word picture for you" (introducing his radio play-by-play colleague) "Heeeeeeeee struck him out!" "Oh what a play!" "He's looking at nine miles of bad road" (when a pitcher was in a tight spot) "We'll be back with the happy recap in just a moment." (after a Mets win) "Hold on to your hats!" (Going into a tight ninth inning.) Murphy was also an announcer for the New York Titans (now the New York Jets) of the American Football League. In addition, in 1973 he hosted the New York edition of Bowling for Dollars, a locally-produced game show, on WOR-TV. After the 2003 season, Murphy retired to Florida. He died of lung cancer in West Palm Beach. After his passing, the Mets honored Bob Murphy's memory by wearing a patch on the left sleeve of their uniforms for the rest of the 2004 season.

It's kind of a shorter entry than Bob Murphy deserves. I wish I could think of more to add to it. It should at least include the word "beloved," I would think.

And "hold on to your hats?" I remember him saying "fasten your seatbelts."

[Guest Edgy DC]

Yancy Street Gang wrote: I wish I could think of more to add to it.

You can!

You perhaps should!

[Benjamin Grimm]

First, am I right about "fasten your seatbelts"? Does anyone have any memory of him saying "hold on to your hats"?

What else can we say about Bob Murphy that could be documented according to Wikipedia's standards?

After pondering for a bit I came up with two things: An account of the day he was honored at Shea and received the number 42 Mets jersey and the famous incident where he said, "They win the damn game..."

Other than that, his career was mostly remarkable for his consistency. He rarely made news; he was the guy who showed up for 42 years and did a terrific job.

Keith Hernandez probably made more news in the booth in 2006 than Bob Murphy did his whole career.

[Guest Edgy DC]

His transition from the TV/radio rotation to fulltime radio, turning what seemed like a demotion into an opportunity to shine.

His philosophy of "never look over your shoulder, the game is right there in front of you" or somesuch.

The contents of his career summary at the Hall of Fame.

Gary Cohen's reflections on being at the beach and Bob's voice coming out of the your radio.

The latter-day nickname of "The Voice of Summer."

What we know of his war record.

His honeydew joke.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Pitching 2-and-2...

[Guest Edgy DC]

Anecdotal reports of his impatience with young turks with their new analysis.

His last eight years of phlegmminess.

His penchant for calling imposing opponents by their more formal names.

"Puffy" + "cumulous."

[Benjamin Grimm]

How much of this is documentable, though?

Using the following as validation, I just changed "hold on to your hats" to "fasten your seatbelts"

http://www.newsday.com/sports/hockey/ny-spzip043917532aug04,0,6991643.column

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

seatbelts is certainly corrrect; 'hats' is wrong.

[Guest Edgy DC]

You don't have to document something you are witness to yourself, so any memory you have faith in, go with it.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I just added the following paragraphs to Bob's Wikipedia page. Hopefully it will stick:

]Murphy's broadcasts were known for their optimistic outlook. He would rarely be critical of players and would always strive to emphasize the positive. According to Gary 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." 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 "recap" after a loss and a "happy recap" after a win, 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 the Mets took a 10-3 lead into the ninth inning, but the Phillies 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 out. Murphy's patience was apparently worn thin by the long inning, and when the game finally ended he famously exclaimed, "The Mets win! They win the damn thing by a score of 10 to 9!" The use of even such a mild expletive was so out of character that it was frequently cited as one of his more memorable moments following Murphy's death 14 years later.

[Guest cleonjones11]

1994 Ford C. Frick Award Winner
Bob Murphy


Bob Murphy was the 1994 recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award. If you grew up a Mets fan in New York, Murphy's distinctive Midwestern baritone is unmistakable, even when it raises an octave or two describing a Mets' defensive gem.

Over the years, Murphy often shared the broadcast booth with sportscasters who weren't even born when he landed his first radio job. That was after World War II when he called the Muskogee Reds' games in his native Oklahoma. His first major league opportunity came in 1954 when he joined Curt Gowdy on Red Sox radio. In 1960 he left Boston for Baltimore before signing on with the Mets in 1962, thanks in a large part to Roger Maris. "I was told that the tape that won the Mets' job for me was my call of Maris' 60th home run in 1961," said Murphy. "He hit it against the Orioles off Jack Fisher."

A caring narrator and a skilled picture-painter who grabs his listeners and transports them to ballparks throughout the country, Murphy has never lost his enthusiasm for his job (or for the Mets), despite their ups and downs over the years.

His broadcasting philosophy is reminiscent of Satchel Paige's oft-quoted axiom. "Don't look back over your shoulder," says Murphy. "The game is right there in front of you, so I just call it as I see it and I don't worry about yesterday's score."

[Guest iramets]

Edgy DC wrote: His penchant for calling imposing opponents by their more formal names. ."

Mets, too--David Arthur Kingman, to name one imposing example.

I always heard it as "He struggeeeeeeem out!!"

Al Jackson was always "the little left-hander from Waco, Texas." And Jack Hamilton was always "the big right-hander from Morning Sun, Iowa." Could be the 16th mention of him during one broadcast, and he'd pull out the full treatment every so often, just in case we'd forgotten.

[Benjamin Grimm]

It was a Wikiuser named "TurboDan" who added that "Hold onto your hats" line.

Should we now turn our attention to poor Lorn Brown?

[Guest Edgy DC]

Top ten Lornes:

1) Lorne Greene
2) Lorne Michaels
3) Lorne Peterson
4) Lorn Brown
5) ??
6) ??
7) ??
8) ??
9) ??
10) ??

[Frayed Knot]

] 1) Lorne Greene 2) Lorne Michaels 3) Lorne Peterson 4) Lorn Brown

That's a pretty four-lorn list

[dinosaur jesus]

Lorne Calvert, Premier of Saskatchewan.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Frayed Knot wrote: ] 1) Lorne Greene 2) Lorne Michaels 3) Lorne Peterson 4) Lorn Brown That's a pretty four-lorn list

Ka-POW!

[Benjamin Grimm]

I can't believe Edgy overlooked that Saskatchewan guy! Just as well, because it set up a nifty pun by Frayed Knot.

[HahnSolo]

On the female side we have Lorna Luft.

[Frayed Knot]

Well, heck, we can use Lauren Bacall too, but by now I think we're stretching things a bit.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Calvert can be be fifth, maybe even fourth.

Lorne comes from the Scottish place name, so I guess it's more popular in Canada. Lorne Greene was Canadian.

I guess the Battlestar Gallactica set was the only place outside of Canada where you could yell "Hey, Lorne!" and two guys would answer.

Mark Liptak writing for White Sox Interactive has an interview with ex-Met Jimmy Piersall, including this memory of Lorn Brown:

ML:

You also worked with a trio of solid pro’s in Lorn Brown, Joe McConnell and Rich King but perhaps the most unusual individual in the booth with you in 1977 was Mary Shane. What were your impressions of her? (Author’s Note: In 1977 Shane became the first female ever to do major league baseball when she appeared with the White Sox. Shane was a 28 year old Milwaukee housewife doing reports for WRIT radio when Charley Warner, general manager of WMAQ radio heard her. She auditioned with Caray in 1976 and was added to the broadcasting team in 1977. She never appeared comfortable with her ‘fame’ and as a result Sox fans weren’t comfortable with her. 1977 was her only season on the air with the Sox.)

JP:

“Mary Shane was a wonderful lady. She and I, in spring training, would go into center field with a tape recorder and ‘broadcast’ the game. I needed the work as much as she did. She wasn’t that bad on the air. Veeck wound up firing her which I thought was very unkind.”

“Joe McConnell was an excellent broadcaster, a very talented man. He did the NBA and the NFL for years.”

“Lorn Brown had a good voice but he was very insecure. Simply put he was an ass kisser. He actually used to drive Bill Veeck home at night, would bring him books to read and things like that. Can you believe that? He didn’t care much for me.”

Big ouch.