John Shearer: Former Brave Dale Murphy Recalls Playing In Chattanooga

Former Atlanta Braves star Dale Murphy has not forgotten getting to play in Engel Stadium way back in 1976 while with the Savannah Braves.
 
“Chattanooga, I remember it was a huge ballpark – with the big scoreboard,” he said with a laugh of the still-standing former home of the Lookouts known for its squared-off centerfield wall that was very deep.
 
Many of the numerous Chattanooga area Braves’ fans have not forgotten him, either, even if they hardly noticed him pass through town as a minor leaguer before his starring years in Atlanta that included back-to-back MVP awards in 1982 and 1983.
 
It was not only his booming home runs and big arm in the outfield that won over fans, but also his big grin and gracious personality.
 
During a visit last week to the Ripken Experience baseball facility in Pigeon Forge to speak to participants in a youth baseball tournament, he was still showing that same manner.  
 
Since I still do some freelance writing in the Knoxville area, I had an opportunity to interview him for the first time and also saw “Engel Stadium,” one of the Ripken Experience fields, which features a squared off centerfield like in Chattanooga.  
 
Although a little grayer now, the 61-year-old and 6-foot-4 Mr. Murphy still has his perfectly slender frame and looks as if he could still play.
 
As we sat down to talk last Monday morning before he addressed the participants, he said he began his career in rookie league ball at Kingsport, Tn., playing at the old Dobyns-Bennett High School field.
 
“I remember I stayed at the Port of Kings Hotel,” he said, adding that the team played against squads from Bristol, Johnson City and Elizabethton in the Appalachian League.           
 
About that time, he quickly became familiar with the name of Tennessee’s then-starting quarterback, Condredge Holloway, admitting that he had actually not heard of him before arriving in East Tennessee.
 
“I am from Portland, Oregon, and I know nothing about the South, and one of my roommates goes, ‘Have you heard of Condredge Holloway?’ ” Mr. Murphy recalled. “I say, ‘I don’t know who he is.’ He says, ‘You don’t know, you’ve never heard of him?’ My teammates from the South were flabbergasted I had not heard of him.”
 
After playing in Greenwood, S.C., in 1975 in Class A ball and Savannah in 1976 in Class AA ball, where he learned about “Rocky Top” by also playing at Knoxville’s Bill Meyer Stadium, he soon reached his own Rocky Top with the Atlanta Braves.
 
Until leaving Atlanta in 1990 to end his career with Philadelphia and Colorado, the Northwest U.S. native had played entirely for Southern teams.
 
Although the Braves did win a memorable division title in 1982, the team did struggle during many of his years with the Braves.
 
 “We had about 3½ really good years, so we had some times that were really tough,” he recalled. “I tell some people we weren’t that good, but we were entertaining.”
 
His era was also when the Braves were on television station WTBS in Atlanta and could be picked up in Chattanooga and throughout the country via cable television. He said he travels around the country now and people everywhere will say they watched him on cable television.
 
“It really created a lot of excitement for a while,” he said. “People grew up in the ‘80s and early ‘90s watching the Braves every day.”
 
He said he is excited about the Braves of 2017 after a rough couple of years, saying they are trying to emulate the Houston Astros in building up the team by stockpiling young talent in the minor leagues.
 
Murphy also likes the new Braves stadium – SunTrust Park – which opened north of downtown Atlanta this year.
 
“It’s a great place to hit compared to Turner Field,” he said. “(Current Brave) Freddie Freeman is going to love hitting there. The dimensions are shorter, and one of the quirks of the ball park is it looks like it’s going to carry really well, especially for a left-handed hitter.”
 
He thinks part of the reason is that the wind is protected with the tall Comcast Building and under-construction Omni Hotel surrounding it.
 
He also said the stadium is attractive and has a nice battery area surrounding it.
 
Trying to take advantage of the new ballpark’s appeal – and no doubt his own – Mr. Murphy has also become a proprietor.
 
He recently opened Murph’s restaurant near the stadium in the Cobb Galleria and said he has been spending a lot of time there recently. He invites Braves fans to come and visit it.
 
“It’s about a 10-minute walk from the ballpark,” he said. “It opened a month ago.”
 
Mr. Murphy then talked a little more about how he enjoys making appearances like at the Ripken facility to promote the game in a positive manner.
 
He then kindly posed for a few pictures before getting ready to make his appearance, and I soon left the facility. I was happy for the interview and pleased to know he seemed to be as good a guy as I thought he was when I was a big fan back in the 1980s.
 
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To hear the audio interview, with Dale Murphy, Click here.