Bobby Murcer, 1946-2008

Just days before Major League Baseball stars past and present converge on New York for the last All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium, word came that longtime Bronx Bomber Bobby Murcer had succumbed to cancer.

A five-time All-Star who played 14 of his 17 seasons with the Yankees before becoming a longtime team broadcaster, Murcer died Saturday after an 18-month battle with brain cancer. He was 62.

Murcer worked as a radio analyst from 1983-85 before moving to television as in 1987; he was the Yankees' assistant general manager in 1986.

Like Mickey Mantle, Murcer was signed out of Oklahoma by the Yankee scout Tom Greenwade as a shortstop but would go on to a productive career as an outfielder. Also like Mantle, Murcer was one of the most popular players in the team's illustrious history.

Murcer was diagnosed with a brain tumor on Christmas Eve 2006 and was operated on four days later. Two weeks later it was confirmed that the tumor was malignant. He returned to Yankee Stadium on Opening Day of 2007 and worked an inning of the game on the YES Network. Murcer received a standing ovation from the crowd and Yankee players came out of the dugout to applaud him.

Read more about the life and times of Bobby Murcer here.