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Bobby Ray Murcer
New York Yankees
Third Base
Born: May 20, 1946, Oklahoma City, OK
Signed: Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent, June 2, 1964
Major League Teams: New York Yankees 1965-1966, 1969-1974; San Francisco Giants 1975-1976; Chicago Cubs 1977-1979; New York Yankees 1979-1983
World Series Appearances: New York Yankees 1981
Died: July 12, 2008, Oklahoma City, OK (age 62)
Bobby Murcer spent four decades with the Yankees as an All-Star outfielder, a veteran designated hitter, a part-time coach and a long-time broadcaster. Dubbed "the next Mickey Mantle (#500)," early in his career Murcer was a fan favorite who starred for the Yankees during some lean years in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He made his first of five consecutive All-Star Games in 1971, led the league in on-base percentage (.427) in 1971 and in runs scored (102) in 1972. Murcer also won his only Gold Glove, as a center fielder, in 1972. Dealt to the Giants in October 1974 for Bobby Bonds (#630), Murcer had several more productive seasons and made the National League All-Star team in 1975. After 2 1/2 seasons with the Cubs, he was re-acquired by the Yankees in June 1979, and he'd settle into a part-time designated hitter/team ambassador role with the club through the first part of the 1983 season. His career ended when the Yankees were ready to call up top prospect Don Mattingly, and the team hosted "Bobby Murcer Day" on August 7, 1983.
Died: July 12, 2008, Oklahoma City, OK (age 62)
Bobby Murcer spent four decades with the Yankees as an All-Star outfielder, a veteran designated hitter, a part-time coach and a long-time broadcaster. Dubbed "the next Mickey Mantle (#500)," early in his career Murcer was a fan favorite who starred for the Yankees during some lean years in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He made his first of five consecutive All-Star Games in 1971, led the league in on-base percentage (.427) in 1971 and in runs scored (102) in 1972. Murcer also won his only Gold Glove, as a center fielder, in 1972. Dealt to the Giants in October 1974 for Bobby Bonds (#630), Murcer had several more productive seasons and made the National League All-Star team in 1975. After 2 1/2 seasons with the Cubs, he was re-acquired by the Yankees in June 1979, and he'd settle into a part-time designated hitter/team ambassador role with the club through the first part of the 1983 season. His career ended when the Yankees were ready to call up top prospect Don Mattingly, and the team hosted "Bobby Murcer Day" on August 7, 1983.
In 1,908 career games, Murcer batted .277 with 252 home runs and 1,043 RBIs. He began his long broadcasting career shortly after playing his final big league game in 1983. Murcer, one of the most well-loved and popular Yankees players ever, sadly passed away from complications related to brain cancer in 2008.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #18
August 15, 2022 from Houston, TX
The Card / Yankees Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
1969 Season
Murcer missed the entire 1967 and 1968 seasons while serving in the U.S. Army. He returned in 1969, wearing uniform #1, getting off to a hot start by batting .321 through the end of May. A heel injury curtailed his production for the rest of the season, and he finished with a .259 average in 152 games, hitting 26 home runs and collecting a team-leading 82 RBIs. First baseman Joe Pepitone (#589) had one more home run than Murcer with 27. Murcer began the season as the club's every day third baseman, but moved to right field in mid-May and then to center field in late August through the remainder of the season. On August 10th, he hit back-to-back-to-back home runs with Thurman Munson and Gene Michael (#626), which was only the third time in franchise history that feat had been accomplished.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1966 Topps #469
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (17): 1966-1967, 1969-1983
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2015 Panini Diamond Kings #17
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 345 in the Beckett online database as of 1/1/23.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
August 15, 2022 from Houston, TX
From a collecting perspective, I spent a lot of the summer avoiding the urge to buy the seven remaining cards needed for our 1965 Topps set from eBay or online dealers. It would have been easy enough to simply click a few buttons, enter my credit card information, and wait for the envelopes to arrive in the mail. But I was mostly successful in resisting the urge to click our way to completing this set, wanting to finish the set in person at a baseball card show. I failed a few times, including when I purchased the Yankees team card in early August from eBay seller txsurf, located in Houston, Texas.
I also added this Murcer card, knowing I'd be collecting the 1969 Topps set in 2023 and not wanting the Yankees team card to travel alone. The Murcer card cost a relatively low $13, so it was easy to add it to my eBay cart before checking out. I couldn't resist the prices of these card, especially since Yankees cards continue to carry a premium in the northeast.
The Card / Yankees Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
This is Murcer's first solo card in a Topps set, as he appeared on Rookie Stars cards in the 1966 and 1967 sets. The photo used here was taken in 1965 and is from the same photo shoot that provided the photo for Murcer's 1966 Topps rookie card. Murcer is wearing #17 here, his first number while with the Yankees, and he was apparently distracted during this photo. The cartoon on the back shows a sleeping Murcer dreaming of his idol.
Most interesting to me though is the write-up on the back mentions the first five home runs Murcer had hit to start the 1969 season. He hit his fifth home run on April 17th, the Yankees' ninth game of the season, so Topps created the copy for this card, printed it and had it in packs the same year. That's pretty impressive.
Accuracy Index: Even though the photo is at least four years old, Murcer's card still gets a 5 since it shows him in a Yankees uniform with a photo that hadn't been used before.
1969 Season
Murcer missed the entire 1967 and 1968 seasons while serving in the U.S. Army. He returned in 1969, wearing uniform #1, getting off to a hot start by batting .321 through the end of May. A heel injury curtailed his production for the rest of the season, and he finished with a .259 average in 152 games, hitting 26 home runs and collecting a team-leading 82 RBIs. First baseman Joe Pepitone (#589) had one more home run than Murcer with 27. Murcer began the season as the club's every day third baseman, but moved to right field in mid-May and then to center field in late August through the remainder of the season. On August 10th, he hit back-to-back-to-back home runs with Thurman Munson and Gene Michael (#626), which was only the third time in franchise history that feat had been accomplished.
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First Mainstream Card: 1966 Topps #469
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (17): 1966-1967, 1969-1983
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2015 Panini Diamond Kings #17
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 345 in the Beckett online database as of 1/1/23.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
#656 Dan Schneider - Houston Astros / #658 A.L. Rookie Stars
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