Murph

by Dale Murphy

Murph, the Sports Entrepreneur Man and His Leagues, is the captivating autobiography of Dennis Arthur Murphy, Sr., the energetic sports promoter who helped to found such professional leagues as the World Hockey Association, the American Basketball Association, World Team Tennis and Roller Hockey International. Jeanie Buss, the vice president of the Los Angeles Lakers, said that Dennis Murphy has connections so strong he can gather the top 10 sports moguls in a room with a single phone call. Murphy used those connections to build leagues that competed head to head with the entrenched National Hockey League and National Basketball Association. Murphy and his cohorts enticed Bobby Hull to flee the NHL to the WHA with an unprecedented $1 million contract and Mr. Hockey, Gordie Howe, soon followed. The list of people Murphy reminisces about in Murph reads like a Who’s Who of Sports in the 20th century and into the 21st – Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Rod Laver, John Newcombe, Scotty Bowman, Frank Mahovlich, Wayne Gretzky, George Mikan, Julius Erving, Wilt Chamberlain, Rick Barry, George Gervin, Larry Brown and Bill Sharman. Murphy also hobnobbed with politicians and other celebrities. In 1967, Murphy and attorney Gary Davidson created the American Basketball Association, a league that eventually merged several teams into the NBA. Under Murphy’s watch, the ABA became famous for its red, white and blue basketball, sideline cheerleaders, the 3-point shot and the slam dunk. The World Hockey Association debuted in 1972 and gave the more established National Hockey League fits by cannibalizing NHL rosters, placing teams in major cities that didn’t host NHL teams, and successfully challenging the reserve clause that bound players to their teams. This victory gave NHL players the opportunity to split to the upstart league; 66 NHL players followed Bobby Hull’s lead in the WHA’s first year. The league disappeared in 1979, but not before four teams – the Edmonton Oilers, New England Whalers, Quebec Nordiques, and Winnipeg Jets – joined the NHL. Murphy co-founded World Team Tennis in 1973. League play began in 1974 with 16 teams, a four-color tennis court, and teams made up of two men and two women. This made WTT the first professional sports league to give equal weight to each man and woman competing for their teams. In 1992, Murphy, then 66 years old, was inspired to develop a new pro sport out of that decade’s inline skating craze. RHI was the first pro full-contact league in which women played against men – Manon Rheaume, Kelly Dyer and Erin Whitten were RHI goalies. Murphy, now 86, is trying to create a new 6-foot-4 inches-and-under pro basketball league, a Women’s Sports Walk of Fame and a new professional roller hockey league. Murphy might be the most unlikely, least known and most influential visionary in North American professional sports history, according to Richard Neil Graham, the editor of Murph. According to Graham, Murphy has a rather leprechaun-like stature, tall dreams, a gift of gab and the ability to bring together a diverse group of people to work toward a common goal. Humble and hilarious, with a touching and impressive old-school respect for women, an enduring love for his USC Trojans, and friendships lasting a half century and more, Dennis Arthur Murphy has extensive and illuminating sports memories. Read about Gordie Howe’s hotel room being bugged by the Russians during the 1976-77 Super Series between WHA teams and teams from the USSR, how the WHA almost went with a red puck, how the owner of the Winnipeg Jets turned down Barbra Streisand as a singer at his nightclub, how Scotty Bowman kept Murphy and his Los Angeles Sharks from stealing Ken Dryden away from the Montreal Canadiens, and more. The 323-page book includes 20 pages of black and white photos and letters promoting Murphy to the Hockey and Basketball Halls of Fame.

Genres: Sports, Nonfiction, Biography, Baseball

168 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 1986

Reviews

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Without a doubt, my favorite all-time sports star is Dale Murphy, #3 for the Atlanta Braves, aka Murph.

As a kid hungry for heroes, and a baseball fan and card collector, I quickly latched on to Dale Murphy. And I avidly followed his career from the mid 80s through retirement. My fascination stemmed initially from my Mormon upbringing and Mr. Murphy’s affiliation with the LDS Church. But my fan-status was assured when my parents purchased cable TV. I began watching Atlanta Braves games on TBS.

This mid-career biography is a light, easy, and thoroughly personable read. As I remember it, Mr. Murphy had someone else do the actual writing of the book, or it was cowritten to some extent. He throws in some neat photos and his statistics up to that point in his career. It came out at the right time to capitalize on his then A-list status in MLB. It details the first half of his career, he and his wife’s love story, and his conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism). The book includes some great anecdotes dating all the way back to his little league days.

You’ll likely have to hunt around for a used copy. But if you are, or ever were a Dale Murphy fan, this is a good read.

[Trent · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my childhood heroes and an all-around good man. Though he hasn't played ball in years, his story is a must read for every young man.

[Kev Willoughby · Rating 3 out of 5]

A look at the popular baseball player's early life and career while he was still in the midst of his peak years. It would be more interesting to read a full account now that his career has been over for several years. This was written sometime after the 1985 season concluded and the overall tone of the book is about how Murphy felt he was struggling when others didn't notice or see that he was struggling with the exception of one time when he knocked over a water cooler in the dugout after striking out.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book, but I wanted to love it. If I was not such a big Dale Murphy fan I probably would have given the book only two stars. The content of the book was great. Dale tells about his experiences from his first few years in the major leagues. He talks a lot about the importance of his faith and how it plays a major role in his life and career. The reason for the low rating is simply the writing style. It reads like it was written by a 20-something-year-old without a college education (which it was). Brad Rock and Lee Warnick are listed as co-authors and I can only assume they were more Dale Murphy fans at the time they worked on this project than they were journalists or authors. I don't recall a single point of view from anyone else in this book. As another reviewer wrote, I would love to read an updated biography on Dale Murphy that spans his entire career, and includes points of view from other major leaguers from the time, coaches, family, friends, and a robust discussion from Hall of Fame voters on why Murph was not elected to the hall, which in my opinion is a travesty to the sport.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dale Murphy was the first player in Major League Baseball that I really looked up to as both a star of the game but an all around great guy. Murph is a good quick autobiography of Dale. My only issues with it are that it was a little heavy on his love of his Morman religion (however, I expected this as it was published by a LDS publishing company) and that he wrote this so early in his career. I'd love to see a more extensive biography by Dale which followed his whole career and life after baseball. Maybe someday. On a personal note, the fact that Dale isn't in the MLB Hall of Fame is such a complete miscarriage of justice. OK, stepping off soapbox now. If you are a fan of Major League Baseball, The Atlanta Braves, or just Dale, this book is worth seeking out.

[Shem Henrichsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The theme of this book is persistence. One example of the theme is when Barry Bonnell spent multiple bus trips to convert Dale Murphy. Another example is when dale was continuously recruited by Atlanta Braves scouts. This symbolizes that even an ordinary person from an ordinary background can achieve their goals. People should read this book because of the insight into one of baseball's greats path to greatness.

[Robb Menlove · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't give out 5 stars very often, and the book really isn't that good, but Dale Murphy is. He may not be the greatest player of all time, but he most certainly is the greatest man to be a player. Thus, 5 stars!!!!

[Danny · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the first real books I remember reading.