News / People
Matt Murphy Tied to Barry Bonds’ Historic Blast after Snagging Home Run Ball
Matt Murphy will likely accomplish a lot of things in life. He may lead a company to financial success, get married and have children; perhaps Murphy will even run for Congress but whatever he does he’ll never escape being the guy that got his hands on Barry Bonds’ historic 756th home run.
Ask Tom House what its like to catch history and he might tell you you’ll never get away from it. While with the Atlanta Braves in 1974 House was in the bullpen the night Hank Aaron eclipsed Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record. It was House who caught Aaron’s drive off of Los Angeles Dodgers lefty Al Downing.
While House went on to record 29 wins and save 34 games over a decade in the major league’s he will always be remembered for the moment he gloved history.
For Murphy it may be a bit sweeter. House wasn’t exactly rewarded financially for his fortune. Murphy, a New York native could receive nearly half a million dollars for his efforts. Not bad for a guy who was just enjoying his last night in the states before departing for Australia.
The 22-year-old Murphy was in left-centerfield by chance, having walked up to the ticket counter with a friend they purchased the $13 tickets without much thought of actually becoming part of history.
When Bonds hit Mike Bacsik’s 3-2 delivery over the wall Murphy was still a distance away but a few fortunate bounces and a determination to survive the ensuing scrum resulted in several members of the San Francisco Police Department escorting Murphy out of the chaos and into history.
