Jim Plunkett, wearing the tie that the Stanford team wore upon arriving at the 1971 Rose Bowl, was among those honoring Bob Murphy.
STANFORD, Calif. -- Ted Leland should have known better.
Leland, the former Stanford athletics director, was not known to have an effusive stage presence. Therefore, he often was dryly introduced in public-speaking roles by Bob Murphy as "Mr. Electricity."
Murphy was an MC extraordinaire and longtime voice of the Cardinal and liked to provide a little zing to any festivity.
As Leland prepared to make another speech on the banquet circuit, he asked Murphy to pump him up a little bit more. After all, there were a lot of potential donors and ticket buyers out there and he wanted to project his best.
With an expectant Leland waiting in the wings, Murphy complied.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Murphy said, "If you liked Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg, wait 'til you hear this guy!"
Leland could only laugh. He wasn't the only one. There were plenty of stories and laughs at Sunken Diamond for a celebration of life for Murphy, who passed away August 22 at age 86. Murphy himself would have been proud.
Murphy's voice, spirit and wit defined Stanford athletics for many years. Murphy served many roles at Stanford – standout pitcher, longtime broadcaster, sports information director – but none could fence him in. He was just "Murph," the man who seemed to know everybody at Stanford and carried an unmatched perspective and sense of Stanford sports history.
Golf also was a passion for Murphy. He was the tournament director of the 1987 U.S. Open at the Olympic Club and was involved in the sport in a variety of ways.
The celebration, attended by about 200, took place outside the clubhouse suite above the right-field line and only a popup away from the pitcher's mound where Murphy starred for Stanford, leading the then-Indians to the 1953 College World Series.
The tributes were many. The guest speakers were, in order: longtime sportswriter and golf partner Mark Soltau, former Stanford sports information director Gary Cavalli, granddaughter Madison Wright, grandson Jesse Thompson, Heisman Trophy winner Jim Plunkett, former Stanford assistant and later Cal and Raiders head coach Mike White, longtime Stanford tennis coach Dick Gould, former Stanford basketball star Adam Keefe, Stanford men's golf coach Conrad Ray, broadcasters Ted Robinson, John Platz, and Dave Flemming, and Leland.
Additional tributes were read, including this one passed along from Tiger Woods:
"Bob was always friendly to me. I used to give him grief about how I could order a pizza at the start of his backswing and have it delivered before he could make contact. All I had to say was, 'Dominos or Pizza Hut?' and he would start laughing."
Cavalli explained how Murphy was skilled at developing relationships, and Keefe expanded on that even more. Keefe recalled how Murphy would finish interviews by asking players about their families.
It was this skill at building relationships that enabled Murphy to convince Roone Arledge, the president of ABC Sports, to televise Stanford's 1970 football opener at Arkansas as the game of the week, knowing that Plunkett would receive national exposure. Stanford upset the No. 4 Razorbacks and Plunkett's star was born.
But Murphy left nothing to chance in getting the word out about Plunkett. His relationship with broadcaster and 1940 Heisman winner Tom Harmon allowed Harmon to provide names, addresses, a phone numbers for all the Heisman voters. Murphy contacted each and mailed them a four-page flyer listing Plunkett's accomplishments and stats. Murphy's Heisman campaign cost $500, including postage, and Plunkett won in a landslide.
Mike Montgomery, who was unable to make the celebration, passed this along: "Nobody loved the Cardinal more or represented the university with more passion."
Murphy was described as "Mr. Stanford," by at least one speaker and Plunkett described the sense of loss of a true university treasure.
After the speakers were finished, Soltau told those gathered that the Stanford football team will have a "Murph" emblem fastened on the backs of their helmets.
The celebration ended with a video tribute that included Murphy's calls of Stanford's 24-23 upset of USC in 2007, Mark Madsen's pivotal dunk that sent the 1998 Stanford basketball team to the Final Four, and Nick Robinson's buzzer-beating long-distance shot that beat Arizona in 2004.
It was a celebration of life indeed.