‘A good human being.’ Local baseball star remembered for exploits on, off the diamond

 

‘A good human being.’ Local baseball star remembered for exploits on, off the diamond

By Tyler Wicke TNT/Tacoma News Tribune, June 16, 2024 10:17 am

With Shea Stadium packed near capacity on the night of May 13, 1966, Bill Murphy launched his first career major league homer deep into the New York sky.

The budding, 22-year-old Mets outfielder had notched his first career home run and base hit on one swing – a clutch two-out, three-run blast off San Francisco southpaw Ray Sadecki in front of a season-high Queens crowd of 56,658.

Murphy’s momentous blast snapped a scoreless tie in the fourth, a drive to left center that proved too deep for the reach of Giants legend Willie Mays.

“The ‘Say Hey’ Kid. That was Bill’s favorite baseball player,” Ron Murphy, Bill’s younger brother of seven years, told The News Tribune.

“To kind of show off in front of Willie Mays, that (was) a big, big deal.”

Mays homered in the eighth later that night, part of San Francisco’s late rally that turned the Friday night game into a 17-inning marathon the Giants survived, 5-4.

But Murphy, the rookie from Clover Park High School in Lakewood, went 3-for-6 with three RBI and enjoyed what was unquestionably the pinnacle of his young baseball career.

The South Sound recently lost the one-time major leaguer, longtime Northwesterner, and beloved family man on the 58th anniversary of his unforgettable home run.

William Eugene “Bill” Murphy, a former TNT employee, died on May 13, 2024 in Tacoma. He was 80.

Survived by his wife of 35 years, Carmen, and four siblings (six total), Murphy was a “protector, provider and leader” who followed his professional baseball career with decades of service as both a mentor and church elder.

Born on May 7, 1944, in Winnfield, Louisiana, Murphy hinted at athletic excellence in earlier years, raised in the Jim Crow South before his father’s military career moved the family to Germany.

The infielding natural participated in military-organized youth athletic leagues overseas and, following their move to the Northwest, soon blossomed into Clover Park’s star infielder.

Murphy graduated from Clover Park in 1962, a three-sport star. He rejected a basketball scholarship from Seattle University and opted against football to sign with the New York Yankees and pursue big-league aspirations.

“Getting signed by the Yankees? That was, like, his dream,” Ron said. “And it would have been (so) for any baseball team. “But the Yankees? With their history? That (was) a huge thing for him.”

It’s where the right-handed hitter transformed his defensive game from infielder to outfielder, crediting baseball legend Joe DiMaggio for lessons amid spring training in 1964 that eased the switch.

In July 1965, Murphy put his cannon arm on display, nailing three runners on separate throws to each base in a minor league game for Class-A Binghamton.

Later plucked by the New York Mets in the 1965 Rule 5 draft, Murphy played his lone major league season in Queens the following year. The 22-old-year managed 31 career hits (.230/.271/.341) with three home runs, 15 runs, and 13 RBI, and appeared in parts of eight minor league seasons throughout a professional career that spanned nine years.

Stops along the way included local homecomings: Murphy suited up for the Seattle Angels (1967) in the Pacific Coast League and concluded his career with the Tacoma Cubs in 1970.

He logged 2,167 career minor league at-bats and tallied 43 home runs, 262 RBI and 52 stolen bases.

One memory Ron will never forget: the year Murphy drove home following his major league season with the Mets in a brand new Ford Thunderbird, along with the natural reaction it garnered among friends.

“(Bill) drove that Thunderbird to my kindergarten class,” his younger sister of 17 years, Dorothea Murphy, said with a laugh. “The windows (in the classroom) were in front where he’d drive up to get me, and I remember the kids running from their desks to the window with their face pressed up against the (glass). They were like, ‘That’s the coolest car! Whose car is that?’ “

And I was able to look over and say, ‘That’s my brother.’ “That was a very cool moment, because he was such a celebrity.”

Murphy was far from flashy, humble of his accomplishments and a known lover of “the simple things in life” whose favorite meal was a piece of cornbread covered in milk.

He was a “jack of all trades,” a Mr. Fix-It relied upon for car maintenance, plumbing and everything in between. His preferred payment? A cup of coffee and conversation.

“In Tacoma, for all intents and purposes, there would be a haul-away-your-junk day to Tacoma Refuse. Bill was the guy who picked up stuff from my house,” Ron said. “And I always had a cup of coffee for him. That’s what he wanted.”

Murphy’s retirement from professional baseball brought him home.

The one-time major league outfielder and member of the U.S. Army Reserve in the late 1960s would attend Pierce College (Fort Steilacoom) and play for the basketball team before directing the school’s baseball program as head coach.

Murphy went on to oversee news carriers for The News Tribune, living the majority of his life in the Northwest.

He was an avid golfer and member of Tee & Turf golf club, which encouraged Black and Brown golfers to enjoy and participate in the sport at a time the game was less accessible.

He is preceded in death by parents Lola and Dero, as well as sisters Annie and Ivy. He is survived by brothers Mike and Ron, sisters Donna and Dorothea, and brother-in-law James.

Murphy “was a faithful (and) loving husband, a wonderful big brother, brother-in-law, uncle, cousin (and) friend,” according to Murphy’s obituary from Mountain View Memorial Park in Lakewood.

“He would come home and be very present for us,” Dorothea said. “When you have a big age gap, that’s super important. It could’ve meant that I didn’t really know him at all. Now obviously, I got to know him more as time went on and I got older, but I would’ve had no memories if he wasn’t present. … And that, I feel like, is a very big statement about who he was.

“He was never cocky about his career. He was never cocky about what he did. … When (his sibling’s) friends would come over, they’d want an autograph, they’d want to talk to him. He was there. He even played catch with them in the yard. “It was more important for him to take those talents and to influence, and be a good human being for his family and the community.”

This story was originally published June 15, 2024, 6:30 am.

https://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/article289188149.html

Photos from 1962 Klahowya, Clover Park High School yearbook

William Eugene 'Bill' Murphy

 William Eugene "Bill" Murphy

 

(Updated 6/9/2024)

 

Bill Murphy, a right-handed hitting outfielder for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball during the 1966 season, died at age 80 in Tacoma, Pierce County, Washington, on May 13, 2024.

 

Link to his obituary from Mountain View Memorial Park in Lakewood, Pierce County, Washington:

https://www.mountainviewtacoma.com/obituaries/William-Murphy-83/#!/Obituary

 

Born May 7, 1944 in Winnfield, Winn Parish, Louisiana, he and his wife, Carmen, lived in University Place, Pierce County, Washington.

 

He grew up in Germany (where his father was stationed in the U.S. Army) and, later, in Lakewood, Pierce County, a suburb of Tacoma.

 

At Clover Park High School in Lakewood, he was an outstanding baseball and basketball player for Clover Park High School in Lakewood, graduating in 1962.

 

After his professional baseball career, he attended what is now Pierce College in Lakewood. He played basketball for Pierce College and was also its first baseball coach.

 

Bill Murphy turned down a basketball scholarship from Seattle University and signed with the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent out of high school. He was taken by the New York Mets in the 1965 Rule 5 Draft. His most productive pro baseball season was in 1965 at Class A Binghamton, batting .291 with 18 home runs and 85 RBI earning a spot on the Mets roster for 1966.

 

During eight Minor League Baseball seasons he played for the Harlan, Kentucky Smokies; Idaho Falls, Idaho, Yankees; Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Yankees; Greensboro, North Carolina, Yankees; Binghamton, New York Triplets; Seattle, Washington, Angels; Jacksonville, Florida, Suns; (Little Rock) Arkansas Travelers; Tacoma, Washington, Cubs, Portland, Oregon, Beavers and the Tulsa, Oklahoma, Oilers.

 

Bill Murphy was known as a good defensive outfielder, but his career didn’t start that way. He had been an infielder in high school and earlier in the minors and credits his emergence as an outfielder for the lessons he received from Yankee legend Joe DiMaggio in spring training 1964, along with coaching from Wally Moses, Jim Gleeson and Jack Reed. In an article in The Sporting News, Murphy noted about his spring work: “I caught I don’t know how many balls a day … two or three hundred, I guess.” In one July 1965 minor league game for the Binghamton Yankees, he threw out runners at three different bases.

 

Murphy debuted in the Major Leagues three weeks before his 22nd birthday as a Mets pinch runner on April 15, 1966.

 

His first Major League hit was a 3-run home run against Ray Sadecki of the San Francisco Giants on May 13, 1966 at the Mets’ Shea Stadium in New York. Murphy finished the 17-inning game 3-for-6. Murphy went on to appear in 84 games for the Mets.

 

He finished the 1966 season – his lone season in Major League Baseball -- with 31 hits in 135 at bats (.230 average) and tallied three home runs, 13 runs batted in, and one stolen base. One of his Mets teammates was a 19-year-old pitcher Nolan Ryan.

After the Mets, he spent four seasons in the minors, spending time in the Mets, Angels, Cardinals, Brewers, and Cubs organizations from 1967 through 1970.

 

Bill Murphy played in the Pacific Coast League for the Seattle Angels in 1967 and the Tacoma Cubs in 1970, his final season. Over eight minor league seasons, Murphy had 2,167 at bats resulting in 43 home runs, 262 RBI and 52 steals. Primarily an outfielder, Murphy played some at first base, third base and catcher while trying to work his way back to the Majors.

 

FOOTNOTES

 

-Some online sources say his birthplace was Pineville, Rapides Parish, Louisiana. His family says he was born in Winnfield, Winn Parish, Louisiana. (Winnfield and Pineville are about 48 miles apart. )

 

-He’s sometimes identified as “Billy,” but his family says he preferred “Bill.” His full name was William Eugene Murphy, born May 7, 1944. There is another Major Leaguer named Bill Murphy: William R.W. Murphy, born May 9, 1981.

 

 -Some sources incorrectly say his nickname was “Murph the Surf.”

 

‘Murph, you WILL be missed by many.’

‘Murph, you WILL be missed by many.’

Remarks about Bill Murphy delivered by Marc Blau at Bill’s funeral service which started at noon on June 1, 2024, at Centro de Vida Familar, 6511 South C St. in Tacoma.

One of seven children of a career Army man, Bill Murphy was born in Winfield, Louisiana, but lived most of his life in Tacoma. 

A 1962 Clover Park High School graduate. Bill was three-sport athlete who played baseball for Coach Holly Gee.

He was signed by scout Eddie Taylor of the New York Yankees for an $8,000 bonus right out of high school as an amateur free agent and began his minor league career at age 18, playing four seasons in the Yankees minor league system. He was then taken by the New York Mets in 1965 in the Rule 5 Draft.

An outfielder, Bill made his Major League debut for the Mets on April 15, 1966, appearing in 84 games for the club. What a thrill it must have been for Bill when his first Major League hit was a 3-run home run against the San Francisco Giants on May 13, 1966 at Shea Stadium.

As I was preparing these comments it suddenly hit me that Bill passed away on May 13, 2024--exactly 58 years ago that he got his first major league hit.

One other interesting note is that one of his teammates with the Mets was a 19 year-old pitcher and future Hall of Famer by the name of --- Nolan Ryan.

Murph then played 106 games for the Seattle Angels of the Pacific Coast League in 1967. Overall, he played 8 seasons of minor league ball with his last season being with the Tacoma Cubs of the PCL in 1970 where he played in 22 games. His last game was played on Sept. 2 in Spokane against the Indians-he started in left field and then moved over to first base, was 1 for 5 with a double and scored a run for the Cubs who lost to the Indians 10-8.

A few other tidbits—Bill played basketball at Ft Steilacoom Community College and his old coach, Jack Scott, now in his 90’s said that Bill had tremendous leadership and attitude qualities which is high praise for anyone. And in the Spring of 1975 Bill became the college’s first baseball coach as well.

Some of you may have seen a neat photo of four players from Tacoma who were all stationed at Ft. Lewis at the same time—and all who played in the major leagues...Bill, Rick Austin, Steve Whitaker and Ron Cey.

I spoke to Rick Austin recently and he shared, “All I can say about Bill is that he was a Class Act both on and off the field/court! I remember watching him play basketball and baseball at Clover Park. Our Army Reserve Unit was enjoyable with Bill, Ron and Whit hanging around. Getting to take time for photos and an occasional lunch with the Commanding Officer were nice breaks from the training.

I’ve had the privilege of getting to know a lot of players from the Tacoma-Pierce County area that had the talent and skill to play professional baseball and most are more than happy to spend time talking about their careers--and understandably so.

In 2020 we inducted Bill into the Tacoma-Pierce County Sports Hall of Fame but prying out information about his career was a challenge.

As talented and accomplished as Bill was, getting him to talk about his career in baseball was like trying to pull teeth --Not easy.  It took a lot of convincing that he WAS worthy of the induction and until he walked into the convention center that evening I wasn’t sure he actually would show up.

Bill was just very humble about his career and not terribly impressed about himself. And, he was definitely not one to be showy or seek the limelight or accolades.  He just loved playing baseball. Murph, you WILL be missed by many.

………….

ABOUT MARC BLAU -- Author Marc H. Blau, a native of Tacoma and a Puyallup resident , is a longtime collector of Tacoma-Pierce County sports artifacts and is a devoted baseball historian. Co-founder of the Shanaman Sports Museum Marc proudly shares his personal photograph collection, as well as images from fellow baseball and fastpitch softball enthusiasts.