Back More
Salem Press

Table of Contents

Great Athletes

Dale Murphy

by Michael Adams

Sport: Baseball

Early Life

Dale Bryan Murphy was born March 12, 1956, in Portland, Oregon. Dale comes from an athletic family. His great-grandfather was a semiprofessional catcher and performed in rodeos in Nebraska. Ledger Bryan, his grandfather, was a center fielder as a young man in Oklahoma.

When Dale was in the fifth grade, his family moved to the San Francisco area. His father, who worked for Westinghouse, took him to Major League Baseball games in Oakland and San Francisco. Dale got to see his idol, Willie Mays, play for the Giants.

baseball_murphy.tif
baseball_murphy_2.tif

The Road to Excellence

After two years in California, the Murphys returned to Portland, where Dale played baseball and basketball at Woodrow Wilson High School. Jack Dunn, his baseball coach, was the first to recognize that his young catcher had major-league potential. Dale was offered a baseball scholarship to Arizona State University but turned it down after he was selected first in the 1974 draft of amateur players by the Atlanta Braves.

Dale hit well in the minor leagues but displayed a wild arm from behind the plate. In 1978, after fifty-eight games as a catcher with the Braves, he was converted to first base by manager Bobby Cox. After Dale found his new position almost equally difficult, the Braves became concerned about finding a spot for the 6-foot 4-inch, 210-pounder.

The Emerging Champion

In 1980, Cox switched Dale to center field, and Dale quickly proved to be a natural outfielder, possessing speed and a strong, accurate arm. Few base runners attempted to go for an extra base when Dale was in his prime. Despite switching from one outfield post to another, depending upon the needs of his team, Dale received Gold Glove Awards for his fielding skills for five consecutive seasons.

Dale gradually improved as a power hitter, having his best years from 1982 to 1985, when he led the National League (NL) in home runs, RBI, and slugging percentage twice and in runs and walks once. He was named most valuable player in both 1982—when the Braves finished first in the NL West for only the second time—and 1983.

Along with Mike Schmidt, Dale was the most feared power hitter in the National League during the 1980’s. He even hit home runs in Houston’s Astrodome, the most difficult of all major-league stadiums for power hitters. In 1984, he slugged 6 homers there, which was not only the most by a visiting player but also more than all but one of the Astros. Dale combined speed with power, becoming, in 1983, only the sixth player to have more than 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases in the same season.

Most power hitters strike out frequently, and Dale would do so more often than most, almost once a game over his career. He would be an awesome slugger in one game and flail away like an amateur the next. He led the league in strikeouts three times.

One of the most durable players in major-league history, Dale played 740 consecutive games between 1981 and 1986, one of the longest such streaks. The streak appeared over in its 676th game when Dale cut his hand after running into an outfield wall and received nine stitches, but he returned in the next game as a pinch hitter and hit a home run.

Dale was one of the most popular players of the 1980’s: From 1982 through 1987, he was voted to the NL all-star team by the fans and received the most votes in 1985. He hoped to end his career with the Braves, but for a variety of reasons, including his salary and the team’s commitment to younger players, he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies during the 1990 season.

The following year, Dale hit 18 home runs with 81 RBI, but he was forced to miss most of 1992 because of injuries. In 1993, he signed with the expansion Colorado Rockies but decided to retire early in the season. The Atlanta Braves honored Dale by retiring his number during the 1994 season.

Continuing the Story

Dale has received as much attention for his character and his off-the-field activities as for his accomplishments in baseball. Raised a Presbyterian, he was introduced to Mormonism in 1975, by teammate Barrl Bonnell, who baptized him following the season. Dale has been strongly active in the Mormon church ever since, teaching Bible classes to teenagers and donating 10 percent of his salary to the church.

After the 1978 season, Dale met his wife, Nancy, while attending Brigham Young University, and they were married in October, 1979. They wanted a large family and have six sons, Chad, Travis, Shawn, Tyson, Taylor, and Jacob. The Murphys’ seemingly ideal family life has been tested by two miscarriages and by the health problems of Travis, born with Rubinstein-Taybi Syndrome, a rare disease that retards mental and physical development.

Dale is famous for his inability to refuse a request for his time, speaking to countless groups, devoting time to numerous charitable organizations, visiting people—especially children—in hospitals, giving endless autographs, and having his picture taken with strangers. He has said that because of his upbringing—his mother was a volunteer teacher of handicapped children—he cannot say no. In 1985, he won the Lou Gehrig Award for his off-the-field contributions to society. In 1987, Dale was named a corecipient of the Sports Illustrated sportsman of the year award.

Summary

Dale Murphy has been called the most admirable baseball superstar. His boyish awkwardness has earned him comparisons with everyone from Jimmy Stewart to John-Boy Walton. He blushes at cursing and caught fly balls with both hands in an era of showboating fielders. He rarely lost his temper, an unusual attribute for a free-swinging slugger. Perhaps the best example of his character is his attendance of the winter instructional league after the 1982 season to work on his hitting. Such dedication paid off—he became one of the great sluggers of the 1980’s.

Additional Sources

1 

Deitsch, Richard. “Q and A: Dale Murphy.” Sports Illustrated 103, no. 25 (December 26, 2005): 29.

2 

Gillette, Gary. Total Braves, Two Thousand: The History and Lore of the Atlanta Braves, Plus a Fan’s Guide to Today’s Team. Kingston, N.Y.: Total Sports, 2000.

3 

Murphy, Dale, and Curtis Patton. Ask Dale Murphy. Chapel Hill, N.C.: Algonquin Books, 1987.

4 

Murphy, Dale, Brad Rock, and Lee Warnick. Murph. Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft, 1986.

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
Adams, Michael. "Dale Murphy." Great Athletes,Salem Press, 2009. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=Athletes_1138.
APA 7th
Adams, M. (2009). Dale Murphy. Great Athletes. Salem Press. online.salempress.com.
CMOS 17th
Adams, Michael. "Dale Murphy." Great Athletes. Hackensack: Salem Press, 2009. Accessed December 14, 2025. online.salempress.com.