In the late 60s, growing up on Long Island, I idolized him. Those were the days of Horace Clarke and Jerry Kenney. Murcer was another Oklahoma kid, like Mickey Mantle and he had huge expectations put on him by the fans. His number was #1. In the beginning, through the mid-70s, he was one of the top players in the game.

I met Murcer once, at Yankee Stadium, when one of my baseball books came out. He was a genuinely nice person and a really nice, nice guy. When you were in his presence, he gave you a good feeling. Plus, he was a very knowledgeable broadcaster and a smart guy.

I asked him if he felt pressure, when he joined the Yankees in 1966, to be the next Mickey Mantle. He said, "No." He simply played the best that he could.

My friend, the ex-Major Leaguer, Richie Scheinblum, (who was on the 1972 All-Star team with Murcer, representing the Kansas City Royals) emailed me:

"Bobby had a bronze plaque in his den, depicting the 700 fly balls he ran down, off my bat. He was one of the long line of great Yankee Center Fielders who covered six acres in Center Field."

The NY Yankees Public Relations Director during the years that Murcer played with the Yanks was Marty Appel. In an email from him today, he reflected:

"Bobby used to get asked whether it embarrassed him to be compared to Mickey Mantle. His answer was that, 'I suspect it embarrasses Mickey a lot more than me!' He was a really, really great guy."

My good friend, Paul Doherty, just emailed me his feelings about Murcer's passing, which I find to ring true: "This is a tough one...Youth just officially ended."

If you were a tri-state area (New York, New Jersey and Connecticut) grade school kid during the time that Murcer played his first stint for the Yankees (1969-1974), you really can understand what Paul meant. The Yankees were a team of good guys and hard players like Jake Gibbs, Steve Hamilton, Stick Michael, Mike Kekich and Jerry Kenneys, but *not* THE YANKEES of our fathers' generation (Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford) and their fathers before them (Joe Dimaggio and Lou Gehrig).

But, we had Murcer. He was our star.

Every night, my family would turn on WPIX Channel 11 to watch The Yankees. It was comforting to watch your team even though you didn't have great hopes that they'd make the World Series. That was, until Munson, Nettles, Chambliss, Catfish and Reggie came to town! Only Roy White, #6, seemed to bridge the gap between those post-Mantle Yankees and the champion, late 70s Yankees.

Murcer wore the #1 jersey during his first go-round with The Yankees and he really was #1 with a lot of young boys, myself included, who looked up to him. Today is a sad day.

Bobby, rest in Peace. Your fans loved you.

Hear longtime Yankee announcer Bob Sheppard announce Murcer's name at a game during his heyday, 1972:

Hear Bob Sheppard announce Murcer, wearing the #2 jersey, in 1981 during his second stint with The Yankees:

Here is one of the great Murcer highlights, a moment that must be ranked second or third on his career list behind his five RBI game the day of Thurman's funeral. The following is the WMCA radio call with Mel Stottlemyre, who was visiting the booth that day, and Bill White. The date is September 21, 1974. Mel's homer prediction was correct, the roof did come off. The 14,000+ fans sounded like 50,000 after Murcer's ball headed over the 358 ft. sign. Listen for Yankee organist Toby Wright to play Oklahoma while Murcer circles the bases:

Here is the same home run as heard on NBC's Saturday Game of the Week with Jim Simpson and Maury Wills:

On August 6, 1979, Bobby Murcer delivered the eulogy at his friend, Thurman Munson's funeral. Thurman, the Yankees captain had died in a tragic airplane accident days earlier. After delivering the eulogy in Ohio, The Yankees flew back to New York for a game with the Orioles that night. Murcer was told he could have the night off by Yankee manager, Billy Martin. But, Bobby wanted to play. He drove in all 5 Yankee runs that night in a come from behind victory.

Here is the Yankee radio announcer Frank Messer's Call of Murcer's 9th Inning Game Winning hit that night, as heard on WINS Radio:

Audio clips courtesy of Paul Doherty. Thanks, Paul!