This summer, Braves fans across the region will have an opportunity to meet a baseball legend in Dale Murphy.
During an 18-year career in the Major Leagues, Murphy played as an outfielder, catcher and first baseman for the Braves, Philadelphia Phillies and Colorado Rockies.
But Murphy is best noted for his many years with the Braves.
His entire MLB career was spent in the National League, during which time he won MVP awards in 1982-83, the Silver Slugger Award from 1982-85, and the Gold Glove Award for five straight years (1982-1986).
On Saturday, May 4, Murphy will be visiting the GroveWood Baseball Museum in Morristown, which is owned by Cocke County native Jamison Pack.
There will be a meet-and-greet at 2:00 p.m. — for which tickets are still available, Pack said — and then a dinner later that night, which has already been sold out.
The day has been a long time coming for Pack, whose time admiring Murphy stretches back to when he first developed a love for the game of baseball.
How it started
When Jamison Pack was four years old, he began collecting baseball cards.
On the back, when the card prompted the collector to write his or her favorite player, Pack went off his dad’s recommendation: Dale Murphy.
“I was 4, I didn’t know,” said Pack with a laugh. “Just wanted to like who my dad liked. That’s how it all started. He was my dad’s favorite player, from the time I learned what a baseball was.”
Fast-forward several years, and Pack wanted to try and connect his dad with Murphy for his father’s retirement from the Newport Fire Department.
“So I was going to surprise him to Dale Murphy,” said Pack. “I was trying to think of how to do it. I had been talking with Dale’s wife, then Covid-19 hit, and it pushed everything back.”
Instead, they wound up meeting Murphy at a VIP event in Atlanta, where they spent the day with him, ate lunch, and then toured Truist Park before watching a game with him.
“That was fun and allowed us to ge to know each other,” said Pack, who was in the process of building the museum that now stands in a shopping center in Morristown. “Once it got finished, his schedule was booked for 2023. So I had to put it off, but I booked him fall of last year.
“As soon as they started scheduling for 2024, I put him in. It’s been a long time coming, a work in progress to say the least.”
How it’s going
Murphy is the sixth guest Pack has hosted, dating back to Field of Dreams star Dwyer Brown in July of 2023.
To that end, he addressed the importance of these events — not just for Murphy, but for fans of various players who may come through the museum.
“We don’t know how long we have with these guys,” he said. “They’re getting up there in age. Who knows how much longer they’ll want to continue doing this? So I want to take advantage of events like these as much as we can. Let’s max out this opportunity to bring our heroes in and meet them and hear stories.”
And as far as Murphy is concerned, there will be plenty of stories for audience members to soak up.
“It’s one thing to watch the game,” said Pack. “It’s another to comment on a backstory that isn’t obvious. He played with some really good guys, played for Bobby Cox. What was that like?
“Then I want to learn about when Glavine tried to bean Dale when he was with the Phillies, and you could tell he wasn’t wanting to hit him. What all was talked about there? There’s plenty of opportunities for that.”
Fans are coming from across the region for this event, as he said he has sold tickets to baseball lovers from North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia and certainly plenty around Tennessee.
Overall, Pack is excited for this event, just as he has been the last several.
But when he thought back to writing Murphy’s name on his baseball card as a kid, Pack admitted this one will be just a little bit different.
“I knew he was a legend,” he said. “Just went off what everybody else was telling me. Everyone around me loved him. He’s baseball royalty, especially in the Southeast.
“So far, it’s the cream of the crop. He was the guy for my dad and myself, so it’s like, ‘How is this possible?’ I talk to them consistently, and it’s like we’re friends. It doesn’t seem real.”
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