WPCNR PRESS BOX. By Greg Zaccaria (Mr. Met). August 9, 2004: As a 10 year old Young Man growing up in the 1960’s, I was invited by a good friend and his Father to my first baseball game in 1966.The game was at Shea Stadium, It was the Mets and the Chicago Cubs, Little did I know, But that day, began a life long love affair with the New York Mets. I was overwhelmed by the sights and sounds of the Ballpark.
A Met Fan Remembers Bob Murphy: Murph, longtime radio voice of the New York Mets is shown in a 1969 Photograph with Lindsey Nelson, and Ralph Kiner, the Mets Broadcast Team. Photo, New York Mets Program, 1969 from the CitizeNetReporter Collection.
Shea was only in its third year, and even though the Mets where not very good, I remember the excitement in the Stadium that day. I was hooked! I began following the Mets from that day on. We didn’t have cable back than and not every game was on T.V. Bob Murphy was the voice I listened to.
So the way I followed the team was by listening to the games on the radio.
That is how I was introduced to Bob Murphy. Bob , along with Lindsay Nelson and Ralph Kiner made up the Mets broadcast team . Murph was there from Day one, He saw The Mets when they where the lovable losers of the 60’s, to when they became the World Champion Miracle Mets of 1969, thru all the good and the not so good.
When you become a “Die Hard Fan” as I did, you spend many days and nights,watching and listening to your favorite announcer, Bob Murphy was mine. Murph was the nuts and bolts guy in the Mets radio booth, He would “paint the word pitcher” for the fans. He didn’t have all the funny stories. He didn’t waste your time,telling the fans about his day. He brought you a baseball game. He had the knack of making a Mets – Padres game in August with both teams below .500 seem important.
I would love it when Murph would warn the Mets fans to “fasten your safety belts” as we would go into the ninth inning of a close game, or how he would describe the weather.
You could have some “puffy cumulous clouds”, or it could be “so hot that the pitcher could warm up by combing his hair”.And when the opposing team would fill the base’s with no outs we where “looking at 9 miles of bad road”. But what Mets fans wanted to hear most from Murph,was at the end of every game, “We’ll be right back with the Happy Recap” That marked a Mets victory.
Bob Murphy called Mets games from 1962 until his retirement after last season.He wasn’t as sharp in the later years as he was earlier in his career.But for us long time Met fans it was quite alright. He was our guy. No nonsense, no schtick. Just the nuts and bolts.
Murph passed away this week,after a short fight with cancer. For us Die Hards
It was like losing a member of the Familiy.For this Met fan the sounds of Summer will never be the same.
