Based on reports by scout Tom Greenwade, the same scout that recommended Mickey Mantle, the New York Yankees signed amateur free agent Bobby Murcer to a deal on June 2, 1964. Murcer had turned 18 less than two weeks earlier. It was the beginning of a long term relationship between Murcer, a native Oklahoman like his boyhood idol Mantle, and the Yankees.
Murcer had two playing stints in pinstripes and served as a broadcaster for parts of 24 years. He was a great ambassador for the Yankees’ brand right up until his untimely death, due to brain cancer, at age 62.