Two-time NL MVP enjoyed American Legion Baseball so much he made the most of his ‘finale.’
Nowadays, when players are potential major league draft picks, they only hold private workouts in the weeks leading up their big day.
Whether it was nostalgia or just plain old school loyalty, former two-time National League MVP Dale Murphy informed the Atlanta Braves after they selected him with the fifth overall pick of the 1974 major league draft that he wanted to play American Legion Baseball one more time before becoming a professional.
“So when I got drafted and I talked to the Braves and I said, ‘Hey, I’ve got another game tonight for Watco Electric and I want to go play my last Legion game,’” Murphy said during a recent appearance as a special guest at a Class AAA Charlotte Knights baseball game. “And the Braves were like, 'Well, you know everything’s going to be null and void if you get hurt tonight.’
“But I talked to my mom and dad and we decided to let me play one last game. And it was very memorable.”
So was Murphy’s Legion career — and major league baseball career.
A member of the Watco Electric Post 52 team in Portland, Ore., Murphy had his finale before going on to have a 2,614-game professional career that was highlighted by 2,180 major league games for the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies and Colorado Rockies.
“Playing Legion Baseball is really how I got drafted,” Murphy said. “We had such a great sponsor in Watco Electric and its owner Marion Reneau (who sponsored a team from 1960 to 1976). We had a bus and we travelled all around the Northwest and played all the good teams.
“When you’re that age, you may not appreciate the connection you make with the veterans. As adults, we can look back and be more thankful for it. So I love American Legion as an organization and am pleased that I got to play American Legion Baseball.”
For Watco Electric, Murphy played on two of the best teams in Oregon history as Post 52 went 49-7 and finished as Northwest Regional runner-up in 1972, then went 54-8 and finished third in the 1973 American Legion World Series in Lewiston, Idaho.
The team was guided by Hall of Fame coach Jack Dunn and included several future Oregon State standouts like football-baseball standout Rich Dodge and baseball players Gail Meier and Bruce Plato and Portland State’s Jeff Dunn and John Dunn (the coach’s sons).
“We were really good and we weren’t a super travel ball team because we all went to the same high school,” Murphy said of the team comprised of him and his Woodrow Wilson High classmates. “It was very important for me in my youth to play Legion Baseball, learn the game, get scouted and eventually get drafted.
“I signed a letter of intent to play for Arizona State, I think, because Watco had great notoriety and we had some great teams.”
Murphy played a handful of Legion games in 1974 before signing his professional contract with the Braves.
After starting his career in Kingsport, Tenn., Murphy quickly progressed through the Atlanta farm system and made his major league debut late in the 1976 season.
After starting the 1977 season with Class AAA Richmond, Murphy came to the big leagues for good late in the 1977 season.
Over his 18-year major league career, he slugged 398 home runs, had 1,266 RBIs and 2,111 hits. He also was a seven-time National League All-Star, five-time Gold Glove winner for his play in center field and a four-time Silver Slugger Award winner.
Regarded as one of the game’s best humanitarians, Murphy’s No. 3 jersey was retired by the Braves on June 13, 1994.
In retirement, Murphy spends about eight months a year in Alpine, Utah, and about four months a year in Atlanta.
He's one of four players with multiple MVP awards that hasn’t been voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame — Roger Maris, Juan Gonzalez and Barry Bonds are the others. And many longtime baseball observers consider Murphy a long overdue candidate for induction.
“I get that question a lot,” Murphy said of the Hall of Fame. “I think a lot of fans thought, and my wife Nancy thought, it would’ve happened real quick. So they’re frustrated about it.
“I’m pretty philosophical about it. Very few guys go in on the first ballot and I was on the regular ballot for 15 years and that was quite an accomplishment. I’ve got another chance in December. And if it happens, obviously it’s going to be unreal and unbelievable.”
- Baseball