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Two Good Men
On Saturday two good men passed away -- Bobby Murcer and Tony Snow. From very different walks of life, but both similar in several ways. I didn't know either of these men personally, but I am sad about their deaths.
I met Bobby Murcer a few times at Jarry Park in Montreal in the mid-1970s after his first stint as a New York Yankee. When I say I met him, I mean to say that I was one of hundreds reaching out to him, pen in hand to obtain his autograph. From those brief moments you could tell that Murcer was somebody special. He looked at you when he returned the signed item, he smiled while signing, and he would talk with the fans if they engaged him in conversation.
During batting practice he smiled with his teammates, enjoying his time as a big league baseball player. When he reached the big leagues with the Yankees in 1965 I was in high school and my baseball card collecting days, for the moment, were over. But I wanted to get Bobby Murcer's baseball card because he was billed as "the next Mickey Mantle." Somewhere in a dusty album I still have Bobby Murcer's 1966 Topps rookie card.
When Murcer joined the YES Network as a broadcaster he was one of the few Yankee announcers who didn't get me mad. He was open, he was honest, and he seemed to tell it more like it was. As a player and as an announcer he was someone you respected. He didn't champion his own statistics, but preferred instead to talk about his teammates.
His statistics fall just short of Hall of Fame credentials, but everyone will agree that he was a Hall of Famer as a person, and that's more important.
Tony Snow was thrust into the limelight in April 2006 when he was appointed White House Press Secretary for President George W. Bush. From 1996-2003 he hosted the television program FOX News Sunday, and then he moved on to his own radio talk show on Fox News Radio.
However, it was not until his press secretary position that I took note of Tony Snow. Even though I usually disagreed with him politically, I enjoyed watching his handling of the media. He was always knowledgable, forthright and used his sense of humor as a fine tool. He was a likeable guy.
As the Sunday morning television analysts spoke of Tony Snow today, it occurred to me that many of his qualities matched what the sports pundits were saying about Bobby Murcer.
On days like this we get reminders that, as great as these men are, they are just like us. They have families, loved ones, friends who care deeply. At this time the accomplishments of home runs and press conferences held don't really matter. What matters is what kind of person we are. What matters at the end is how we treated others and whether we demonstrated a zest for life right down to the finish line.
Comments
Two great role models! Bobby could teach all baseball players and our children how to play the game and respect the fans, teammates and baseball history and the future ! The right way with determination, class and respect for the game. Tony did his difficult job with dedication and respect for the President down to the average person. His courage and love of family is truly inspiring to everybody. These two wonderful people from different careers were on the same page in life! They were both successful with a burning desire to succeed and the courage to do the right way. They were winners!
Posted by: Lenny Smallacombe | July 14, 2008 11:00 AM
I have to agree with your tribute to Tony Snow. Regardless of his politics, he was able to handle the White House press corps through his use of humor and respect for others. Not an easy task - especially when the press corps were so strongly contrarian towards the President (think David Gregory & Helen Thomas). In spite of his terminal medical condition, he continued to love life and to live it fully & gracefully. A man to emulate.
Posted by: Miney Rowlson | July 14, 2008 7:59 AM
Bobby Murcer was not only a fine broadcaster but a true gentleman as well. When Sox picther Jon Lester (a cancer survivor) tossed a no-hitter earlier this season Murcer was one of the first to call him and tell him how proud he was of Lester's accomplishment.
Murcer broadcasts were fair and unbiased. When Yankee opponents deserved credit and when New York deserved a tongue lashing he was not afraid to give it. Murcer will be missed by all baseball fans.
Posted by: Rick K | July 13, 2008 10:19 PM
Foxy,
Great comments as usual. A few thoughts on Bobby Murcer. In 1974 when he was traded for Bobby Bonds, Craig Ladd was hosting a sports call in show on WKDR.The North Country Yankees fans were not happy with that trade and had many colorful comments.
What baseball fan,Yankee lover or hater,could forget his performance the day of Thurman Munson's funeral. He gave the eulogy in Ohio, then drove in all 5 runs in a Yankee 5-3 win over the Orioles. Including a two run RBI hit in the bottom of the 9th inning.
I also remember vividly one of his first games in the Yankee TV booth. It was the infamous pine tar game. Like most of us, he found it entertaining.
Tony Snow was a real class act. A good Conservative who knew how to deal with the wacky Washington media.
Craig Mathews
Posted by: Craig Mathews | July 13, 2008 7:27 PM