TAMPA – Today, I was browsing through my Facebook page reading all of the great questions, quotes and anecdotes from some really knowledgeable friends and fans. To my surprise, there was a nice greeting from Kay Murcer the extremely beautiful wife of the late Bobby Murcer.
She was responding to the picture I posted of Reggie Jackson eating strawberry shortcake. It was very cute and very sweet. I showed it to “Mr. October” and he had one of the very few and true loving smiles because he is all business during spring training.
I sat back and thought about how much I still miss Bobby Murcer. I thought about the fact that to this day I have never heard a person utter a negative word about my post-Mickey Mantle hero. I think about the fact that his son Todd was the first Yankee kid that I would baby sit and to this day we are so extremely close.
Sometimes on my Facebook page, I read negative feedback from fans about ticket prices, lack of autographs, etc. Yet, Bobby Murcer was always a player who used to scream out, “Lets give the fans a good show today. After all, they are paying our salary.”
He was a big brother to Thurman Munson and there is no way Munson would have become the great Yankee he was and great leader without the tutelage of the the grand Mr. Murcer. If I didn’t witness this myself, I wouldn’t say it, but as God as my witness, I am lucky and proud to have lived it from year-to-year.
Having spent part of 44 years with the Bronx Bombers, I am so thankful that along with Murcer, my big brothers Thurman and Reggie, Sweet Lou Piniella, the great Graig Nettles, that gentleman Roy White, the then “Teenager” Willie Randolph, and the very quiet Chris Chambliss, along with the beautiful Catfish Hunter, “Chicken” Stanley, my hero Gene Michael, Ed Figueroa, and of course “Louisiana Lightning” Ron Guidry. But, I cannot complete this without mentioning my two roommates of that era Mickey Rivers and the teen heart-throb Bucky Dent.
Then again, this would not be possible without our field general the incomparable Billy Martin and, of course our fearless leader who put this comradery together and loved it so very much, George M. Steinbrenner.
I’ve been blessed. God knows I’ve been blessed and I try to live and share with all the fans that truly do love the New York Yankees. Thank you Kay. I love you.
Weekends belong to Ray ESPN 1050 Radio 12-2pm Saturday and Sunday. Ray can also be read on Newsmax.
