Bob Murphy
From The Met Wiki
Bob Murphy was a broadcaster for the Mets from 1962 to 2003. He covered the team on television and radio before being moved to radio only. Murphy’s career in the Mets’ booth spanned from the team’s inception at the Polo Grounds to their 40th season at Shea Stadium.
Before joining the Mets, Murphy served as a radio announcer for the minor league Muskogee Reds. He joined the Boston Red Sox as a broadcaster in 1954 and began a two-season stint with the Baltimore Orioles in 1960. Bob’s call of Roger Maris’s 60th home run of the 1961 season (which came against the Orioles) served as the means by which he attained to job with the Mets. In addition, he served as the announcer for the University of Oklahoma and the Polo Grounds-based New York Titans/Jets football teams.
Over his first 17 seasons with the Mets, Murphy shared radio and television duties with fellow announcers Lindsey Nelson and Ralph Kiner. After Nelson’s departure, he continued on both radio and TV with Kiner and Steve Albert. In 1982, Bob was taken away from television and put solely on radio, where he was paired with Steve LaMar. On the audio-only airwaves, he continued as the Mets’ primary announcer until his retirement.
On radio, Murphy covered the beginning of the team’s first regular season game on April 11, 1962. He was behind the mike on radio for the team’s first division-clinching on September 24, 1969. Bob announced the final moments of the Mets’ second division-clincher on October 1, 1973. Following the ’73 season, he served as the host for the New York edition of the TV show Bowling for Dollars.
Murphy served as the Mets’ primary broadcaster after becoming a radio-only personality. His voice was heard for all of the team’s best moments. In 1986, Bob described the final outs for the East Division, National League Pennant and World Series clinchers. He announced the end of the Mets’ division-clincher in 1988. Murphy continued to call the Mets’ games on radio during the 1990s; a decade in which the team fell to the basement and ended with a playoff berth.
In 2000, Murphy covered the Mets’ National League championship season. He was on the air during the World Series. These were Bob’s final post-season games of his broadcasting career.
Just 47 days short of his 80th birthday, Murphy passed away on August 3, 2004. The radio booth at Citi Field was named in his honor, just as it was at Shea.
