Description: A comprehensive profile of and tribute to baseball great and humanitarian Dale Murphy. He has been a Phillie, a Rockie, and should be a Hall of Famer; but to his fans Dale Murphy will be FOREVER A BRAVE.
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"If you're a coach, you want him as a player. If you're a father, you want him as a son. If you're a woman, you want him as a husband. If you're a kid, you want him as a father. What else can you say about the guy?" -- Joe Torre
At a time when athletes shun their role model status and are routinely suspended and banned from their respective sports for unlawful conduct, Dale Murphy shouldered the responsibility of being a role model to thousands of children and generously gave of his time and money to numerous charities. Dale is a man of extraordinary talent and character. Unfortunately, many baseball fans suspect that Murphy will be the next victim of the Baseball Writers' oversight when he is not voted into the Hall of Fame.
Apparently 400 home runs is pretty much a free ticket to Cooperstown but 398 home runs, back-to-back MVP awards, 5 straight Gold Gloves, and 740 consecutive games, not to mention his unsurpassed community service record, is another story. Whether or not Murphy is given his due by the BBWAA, I figure the least I can do is salute him with this page.