Bobby Murcer, former New York Yankees player dead at 62

July 13, 2008

Bobby Murcer of the old New York Yankees has died today; he was 62. He died due to brain cancer and died at Mercy Hospital in Oklahoma City; Murcer's funeral is being held in that city.

Yankees owner George Steinbrenner stated that "Bobby was a great guy". He played four decades with the Yankees. He leaves behind his wife, 2 children Tori and Todd, as well as grandchildren. Commissioner Bud Selig of the MLB said, "All of Major League Baseball is saddened today by the passing of Bobby Murcer, particularly on the eve of this historic All-Star game at Yankee Stadium, a place he called home for so many years."

Murcer won the All-Star team 5 years in a row from 1971 onwards. He retired in June 1983 and went into the broadcasting business. He was an announcer in 1989. He started playing baseball when he was 19 in 1965. He received news that he had a brain tumour on Christmas Eve 2006. He was well liked in New York City and was said to be "folksey". In 1979 he famously won a game against the Baltimore Orioles shortly after learning that his friend Thurman Munson had been killed. After hitting a three-run home run and then a two-run single at the bottom of the ninth inning to beat Baltimore 5-4, Murcer won the game for Munson, and gave his bat to Munson's widow.