Bob Murphy

Robert Allan Murphy (September 25, 1924 – August 3, 2004) was a 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 through 2003, joining 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-announcer's name)."
 * "Here to paint the word picture for you" (introducing his radio play-by-play colleague)
 * "Heeeeeeeee struck him out!"
 * "Oh what a play!"
 * "We'll be back with the happy recap in just a moment." (after a Mets win)

Murphy's call of the final out of the Mets' dramatic 16-inning Game 6 win of the 1986 National League Championship Series - "Swing and a miss!! Struck him out!!  Mets win it!!  The Mets have won it; they're in the World Series!!" - is available as a ringtone for cellular phones from Major League Baseball.

Murphy was also an announcer for the New York Titans 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.