Yankee for life

de Bobby Murcer, Glen Waggoner

Written by Bernie Weisz Historian [email protected] 10/21/09 ****Reading About Bobby Murcer:My Youth Revisited! This was a very hard book to read, as I knew from page one what Bobby Murcer's fate would be from his inoperable brain tumor. I had this same feeling of "gloom and doom" when I read Tug McGraw's memoir, published posthumously. Ya Gotta Believe!: My Roller-Coaster Life as a Screwball Pitcher and Part-Time Father, and My Hope-Filled Fight Against Brain Cancer Similar to Tug's book, there is a picture of Murcer on the cover showing him ravished by the effects of cancer. This is not the Bobby Murcer I want to remember. I first met Bobby Murcer as an 11 year old adolescent in 1971. My sister, Helaine, had a boyfriend named Mitch. I would constantly watch the Yankees on WPIX, and this gentleman saw that I liked baseball. Mitch asked me why I never went to a ballgame. I had trouble explaining to him that my father was from Czechoslovakia originally (he was an R.A.F. pilot during W.W. II) who not only didn't understand baseball, but thought it was a stupid game. My father taking me to Yankee Stadium was out of the question. Similarly, my mother didn't understand the sport either, nonetheless driving me from Forest Hills, Queens to the battleground of the South Bronx was simply out of the question. Mitch volunteered. With the Yanks hosting the Oakland A's, in the bottom of the first Bobby Murcer fouled off one of Vida Blue's fast balls right into Mitch's hands. Mitch handed the ball to me. I still possess that ball, and part of Bobby Murcer. While this book was hard for me to read, I can only imagine what Mr. Murcer's wife must think, as in the preface, Murcer wrote: "How can a man be so lucky as to find a woman so beautiful on the outside and even more beautiful on the inside"? Truly, "Yankee For Life" revealed to me more about Bobby Murcer and the Yankees then I cared to venture. Murcer explained that he was was a baby boomer, born in Oklahoma City one year after W.W. II ended. He was signed by N.Y. Yankees scout Tom Greenwade at age 18. Since Greenwade was the same scout that signed Mickey Mantle, the comparison and hype to equally perform to "The Mick" started early. Murcer was ecstatic with his Yankees signing, as the Yankees were his heroes, players that dominated the sports pages such as Yogi Berra, Robby Richardson Whitey Ford and Phil Rizzuto. Murcer had 2 brothers, DeWayne, a childhood polio victim, fireman, and unfortunately a heavy smoker who died of a heart attack at age 47, and Randy. Murcer's parents also died from disease. His father passed at the age of 57 from a heart attack and his mother, like his brother DeWayne also a heavy smoker, also dying from lung cancer. This book is interfaced with corroborating comments throughout by his childhood sweetheart (who he met at age 9) and eventual wife, Kay. Kay offers fresh insight and alternate versions of all of Murcer's anecdotes. Proof positive of his love and desire to be a Yankee, Murcer was offered by the Los Angeles Dodgers a $20,000 signing bonus and paid tuition for a 4 year college education. Greenwade offered him $10,000. Murcer chose the Yankees, figuring all the postseason pay he could count on the the Yankees. This was 1965, the beginning of the Yankee "Great Depression" where they wouldn't see post season play for another 11 years. To seal the deal, Greenwade introduced his trump cards, driving with Murcer to Kansas City to meet Mantle and Yogi Berra. Murcer wrote: "We drove up to Kansas City. The first of my boyhood heroes I met was Yogi Berra, just into his 2nd month as Yankee manager. I don't remember exactly what he said, I was so awestruck, it was all I could do to remember my own name-but the feeling I remember was all warmth and welcome. Then I met Mickey. He had that big grin, and he told me what a great guy Tom Greenwade was, and with his familiar accent, he made me feel right at home. The Dodgers and their $20,000? They'd been history from the minute Yogi said, "Hello and Mickey said, "Hey". Mr. Greenwade looked on, all smiles, as I signed my lifelong dream into reality. I was a New York Yankee". Next, Murcer related how he held the distinction of being the only guy from the entire "A ball" rookie league, hitting .365 in Greensboro, NC., to be promoted to a 25 man roster in the major leagues in his September, 1965 "cup-of-coffee" call up. Although his next homer didn't occur for almost 4 years later, Murcer hit his first major league hit on Sept. 14th, 1965 a game winning home run against the Washington Senators. Next would come another season in the minors and with the Vietnam War raging, two years in the Army. Murcer started the 1966 season as the Yankee shortstop, and instantly faced hazing by the Yankee veterans. However, that quickly ended. As Murcer wrote: "My hazing, mild to begin with, came to a screeching halt about midway through camp. After practice one day, Mickey Mantle stopped me in the middle of th