Yankee great Bobby Murcer dies

by anaconda on Jul 12, 2008 4:56 PM EDT in New York Yankees News

1946 - 2008

It is with deep sadness that the New York Yankees announce the passing of former player, executive and broadcaster Bobby Murcer due to complications from brain cancer. He passed away Saturday afternoon surrounded by family at Mercy Hospital in Oklahoma City. He was 62 years old.

"Bobby Murcer was a born Yankee, a great guy, very well-liked and a true friend of mine," Yankees Chairperson George M. Steinbrenner said. "I extend my deepest sympathies to his wife Kay, their children and grandchildren. I will really miss the guy."

A family service will be held in the next several days in Oklahoma City. An additional celebration of his life will be held at a date to be determined. He is survived by his wife Kay, his children, Tori and Todd, and his grandchildren.

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Bobby

R.I.P. .....We’ll all miss you as you pass on to a better place, where you’ll be welcomed with open arms by those other Yankee greats in the sky.

by mik70wg on Jul 12, 2008 5:26 PM EDT reply actions

RIP Bobby

I saw him play years ago and he was a darn good ballplayer. Does anyone know what happened to him? I am saddened to hear of his death. :(

"My favorite umpire is a dead one."
-Johnny Evers

by MiCubsFan on Jul 12, 2008 5:30 PM EDT reply actions

R.I.P Bobby Murcer

....I am too young to remember him as a player, so I’ll talk about my feelings of Mr. Murcer as a bradcaster.

He had the best voice of any Yankees broadcaster I’ve heard; yes, better then Rizzutto. The way he told stories about Yankee legends he played with was a joy to hear. Whenever he discussed Thurman Munson, it made me sad that I was born a generation too late to see Thurman actually play. Of all the idiot boradcasters on YES, Murcer was the shining exception. He made Michael Kay somewhat bearable to listen to in the early YES years. Like all good things, we never truly appreciate them until they are taken away from us. I will miss his tempered southern drawl mixed with Northeast inflections. He seemed more than a player or a broadcaster. Listening to him, he exuded a homeliness. Every Yankee fan listening to him could feel for two and a half hours a comfort level that comes only from someone who loves baseballn and loves people. I will miss seeing him in the booth during pregame, a face worn by age and wisdom of a terrific beaseball career. He will always be a New York Yankee. The team should wear his number on their sleeve for the remainder of the season in tribute. I would hope the bleacher creatures give him a fond roll call farewell at the all-star game and perhaps add his name at the end of the roll call for the rest of the year.

by nitlion007 on Jul 12, 2008 5:31 PM EDT reply actions

RIP

What a great player, and he seemed like such a genuinely great guy, I’m sad to hear this news. He was one of my favorite broadcasters as well.

by Greenfuzz on Jul 12, 2008 10:00 PM EDT reply actions

Bobby Murcer Rest In Peace

I’m an old timer; I remember his entire playing career. Bobby Murcer was one of my baseball all time heros. His passing was way, way too young. Sorry for your loss New York.

Rick C in Tigard
(Portland, OR)

by Rick C in Tigard on Jul 13, 2008 4:02 AM EDT reply actions

Great player, great broadcaster, great man.

He will be missed.

The Jayfiss Report ...one fan's rants

by NumberSeven on Jul 14, 2008 9:54 AM EDT reply actions

Remembering Murcer, Munson and Uncle Angelo

I never had the opportunity to meet Bobby Murcer in person, but I’ve written about him several times recently in my SportsLifer blog. Perhaps most poignant and fitting is the reflective piece I wrote about Murcer’s eulogy at Thurman Munson’s funeral in 1979, where he used the words of my great uncle, Angelo Patri, the famed progressive educator, writer and philosopher.
At the funeral in Canton, Ohio, Murcer sobbed as he read: "The life of a soul on earth lasts longer than his departure. He lives on in your life and the life of all others who knew him."
The words are from Uncle Angelo’s syndicated column, Our Children,and were written in 1928.
"In one sense there is no death,
The life of the soul on earth lasts beyond his departure.
You will always feel that life touching yours
That voice speaking to you — that spirit looking out of other eyes,
talking to you in the familiar things he touched…
Worked with…loved as familiar friends.
He lives on in your life
And in the lives of all others that knew him."
Following Munson’s funeral, the Yankees returned to Bronx, where Uncle Angelo had become the first Italian-born American to become a school principal in 1907. That night the Yankees faced the Baltimore Orioles in a nationally televised game. Yankee manager Billy Martin wanted to give the emotionally drained Murcer the night off, but Bobby insisted on playing. Murcer single-handedly brought the Yankees back from a 4-0 deficit with a three-run homer in the seventh and a two-run single to win the game, 5-4, in the bottom of the ninth.
Murcer never used the bat from the game again and gave it to Munson’s widow, Diana.

by SportsLifer on Jul 17, 2008 9:24 AM EDT reply actions