# Yankee great Murcer dies of brain cancer **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [July 13, 2008, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yankee-great-murcer-dies-of-brain-cancer/456282 "2008-07-13T00:27:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2008, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yankee-great-murcer-dies-of-brain-cancer/456282/1 "2008-07-13T00:27:46Z")
[Yankee great Murcer dies of brain cancer](http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8339494?MSNHPHMA) ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2008, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yankee-great-murcer-dies-of-brain-cancer/456282/2 "2008-07-13T02:32:36Z")
I’m 47, which means I started following baseball (and the Yankees) i nthe late Sixties, a time when the Mantle-Dimaggio-Ruth dynasty years seemed like a mighty distant memory. Bobby Murcer was the best player the Yankees had during some mighty lean years. I was very sorry to see him go, and happy to see him return in the Eighties, as a player and a broadcaster. Being a Yankee center fielder from Oklahoma made everyone compare him to Mickey Mantle, of course, and he was never THAT good. But he was plenty good enough, and SEEMED like a genuinely good guy, too. He’ll be missed. ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2008, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yankee-great-murcer-dies-of-brain-cancer/456282/3 "2008-07-13T02:44:48Z")
That sucks. I thought he was doing better. I barely recall seeing him play, but I really enjoyed his broadcasting work. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2008, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yankee-great-murcer-dies-of-brain-cancer/456282/4 "2008-07-13T10:42:15Z")
That’s too bad. He was a good ballplayer, always underrated because of the comparisons to Mantle (and to Barry Bonds, for whom he was swapped–and Bonds was under-rated in comparison to Mays), and he seemed like a decent guy. He certainly endured his cancer with bravery and dignity. My condolences to his family and his fans. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2008, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yankee-great-murcer-dies-of-brain-cancer/456282/5 "2008-07-13T11:30:14Z")
That’s sad. He was my favorite Yankee as a youth and had the misfortune to play on some pretty lousy teams. He always seemed like a nice guy to me. ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2008, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yankee-great-murcer-dies-of-brain-cancer/456282/6 "2008-07-13T11:44:58Z")
If anyone is interested, [here](http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/2008/07/12/2008-07-12_bobby_murcer_was_prince_of_our_city-1.html?page=0) is Mike Lupica’s column from The NY Daily News today.