The AP's Bernie Wilson has the story of how the San Diego Chicken is returning to the stadium where he was hatched to help the Padres say goodbye as they vacate Qualcomm Stadium for a new home next season.
Of course, Qualcomm was once known as Jack Murphy Stadium, named after San Diego sportswriter who helped bring both the Padres and the Chargers to the city. Murphy died in 1980.
Though the official name is Qualcomm Stadium at Jack Murphy Field, I always felt the naming rights deal in San Diego was once of the most heinous in all of sports -- erasing the name of a prominent local who was loved by the community he lived in.
Perhaps it was appropriate then, that as the Padres were saying goodbye to the stadium that once bore the name of Jack Murphy, back on the East Coast, the New York Mets were saying goodbye to his brother Bob, the long-time Mets broadcaster who retired last night after 43 years with the team.
43 years is hard to fathom, especially because I've only been alive for 36. And Murphy was one of the constants in my life until I left New York for good in 1985. The thought of him not being a part of Mets broadcasts, and delivering his "happy recaps", is almost unfathomable. In 1994 Murphy was enshrined in the broadcast wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame, and I made sure to listen to his induction speech during a long drive from New York to Philadelphia on that weekend afternoon as he recalled all the highlights from his broadcasting career.
Although it's a tremendous loss, I hope Murphy enjoys a well earned retirement. And one last thing: in his era, there was no other baseball broadcaster, save perhaps for Mel Allen who briefly returned to New York late in his life to do some television work for the Yankees, that came close to his skill in describing the game on radio.
