Herbert Courtland "Dummy" Murphy (December 18, 1886 – August 10, 1962) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

for the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

in 1914 as a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

. Partially deaf, he was sometimes referred to by the nickname "Dummy".

Career

Murphy started his professional baseball career in 1912. The following season, with the

Thomasville Hornets Thomasville may refer to: *Thomasville, Alabama *Thomasville, Georgia *Thomasville, Iowa *Thomasville, Missouri *Thomasville, North Carolina *Thomasville, Pennsylvania Other uses *Thomasville Furniture Industries Thomasville Furniture Industries w ...

of the

Empire State League The Empire State League was a Minor league baseball circuit which operated in the 1913 season. It was a Class-D, six-team league, with teams based exclusively in Georgia, U.S. In 1914, the league evolved to become the Georgia State League. Ci ...

, he batted .338 and was drafted by the Phillies in September. He started 1914 as a major league regular. However, he batted just .154 in nine games and made eight errors in the field. He was released in May and went to the Jersey City Skeeters, where he batted .235 the rest of the season. Murphy spent the next few years in the minor leagues, mostly in the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

. In 1920, he was a

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

for the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...

. He retired soon afterwards.

References

External links

1886 births 1962 deaths Major League Baseball shortstops Philadelphia Phillies players Greenwood Scouts players Thomasville Hornets players Jersey City Skeeters players Portland Beavers players Spokane Indians players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Salt Lake City Bees players Seattle Giants players Seattle Rainiers players Charlotte Hornets (baseball) players Minor league baseball managers Baseball players from Illinois People from Olney, Illinois {{US-baseball-shortstop-stub