‘Red’ Murff: the legend of baseball legends

Most baseball fans from my generation probably don’t recognize the name John Robert “Red” Murff or realize his connection to our University.

Murff spent most of his professional baseball career in the Minor Leagues — recording a no-hitter in 1951 and working a 19 2/3-inning game one year later.

He made his Major League debut in 1956 with the Milwaukee Braves and was with the team when it won the World Series against the New York Yankees in 1957. A back injury kept him from earning a ring, but during his career he did get to play against Hank Aaron, the former all-time home run champion.

As a pitcher, Murff is on an exclusive list of Major League pitchers who collected a base hit before earning a victory. He appeared in 26 games for the Braves, finishing with a 2-2 record and a 4.65 earned run average.

But Murff, as I soon learned, is best known as the New York Mets scout who “discovered” pitching great Nolan Ryan at Alvin High School.

Ryan thanked Murff in his 1999 Hall of Fame induction speech in Cooperstown, N.Y.

“I am proud to say that Red is a friend and that Red took more of an interest in me at an early age,” Ryan said. “He saw me at 6’2” and 140 pounds, and he wasn’t discouraged by my build … and I appreciate the fact that Red spent so much time with me and worked to help me become a better pitcher.”

Murff retired after 34 years as a scout and moved to Tyler and in 2003 took an interest in Patriots baseball when he met his neighbor, Athletic Director James Vilade.

“Red loved baseball and I loved it as well and we hit it off,” Vilade said. ““Early on in our program, Red was the only person who supported our team and our players. He was instrumental with having a scouting day and getting our players ready for professional ball and it really helped them out.”

In 2006, Vilade said he honored Murff with the inaugural Food Fast Lifetime Achievement Award. One of the last games Murff saw was on April 12 when the Patriots’ Kyle Braden hit a walk-off homerun against Louisiana College in a 6-5 win, Vilade said.

Murff died of natural causes on Nov. 28 in a Tyler nursing home. Vilade said his friend had suffered a stroke and a heart attack in the past and also had Parkinson’s disease.

Vilade said he often visited Murff at the nursing home and Ryan also visited just before Murff died. “I would go pick him up and we would go see a high school game or my son’s game and we would tell each other baseball stories. We talked a lot about the game and about the places he has been and who he had met,” Vilade said.

“To share a lot of time in the game with Red over these last few years was really special for me. I am going to miss him for sure because he was really special,” he said. “Baseball was a huge part of his life. It was a part that he spent a long time in the game and he taught me to take care of the game and share it with others.”

I learned a lot about Murff from Vilade. It sounds like I missed out on meeting a great advocate of the game.

Murff spoke of his love of the game in his book “The Scout: Searching for the Best in Baseball.” “Thank you, God, for baseball and its wonderful people and all the game has done for me and meant to me. God, I do love it so!”

By Jeremy Cotham Associate Editor