Con Murphy

Cornelius B. Murphy
(Monk or Razzle Dazzle)

• Bats Unknown, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 130 lb.

• Debut September 11, 1884
• Final Game September 6, 1890
• Born October 15, 1863 in Worcester, MA USA
• Died August 1, 1914 in Worcester, MA USA

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Biographical Information

Cornelius "Con" Murphy pitched 3 games for the Philadelphia Quakers in 1884 under manager Harry Wright, losing all three, and then returned to pitch for the Brooklyn Ward's Wonders in 1890, under manager John Ward, going 4-10. He also had at least 7 seasons in the minors, winning over 100 games.

Murphy was born, and died, in Worcester, MA. He came to the majors at age 20 after winning 20 games for the Trenton Trentonians in 1884. He came back to the big leagues in 1890 after two good seasons with the Syracuse Stars in 1888 and 1889, going 35-14 and 28-18. Fleet Walker was a teammate both years. Murphy managed in the minors in 1897 and 1899.

Although Murphy was only 20 and had lost 3 games in the big leagues, manager Wright put him up as the starter in the first game of the city series between the Quakers of the National League and the Philadelphia Athletics of the American Association. He pitched scoreless ball for five innings before giving up some runs later in the game. [1]

The SABR biography of Joe Battin states that he and Murphy had a physical fight in 1888 about who would bat where in the batting order. While Batting was fielding well and Murhpy was pitching well, neither had a strong year with the bat (Murphy hit .207 with some power while Batting hit .196 with less power).

He appears to be the only major leaguer ever nicknamed "Razzle Dazzle".