I thought this might be a nice time to look back at one of Bobby Murcer’s greatest games as a member of the New York Yankees: August 29, 1972.

It was the first game of a twi-night doubleheader against the Rangers – at Yankee Stadium.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Murcer came to bat with one out and the Yankees trailing by one run. He tripled – against Mike Paul – and then scored on ground-ball single by Roy White to tie the game at one. The Yankees would plate another run that inning to take a 2-1 lead, after four.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Murcer followed Thurman Munson’s two-out walk with a double (again, off Mike Paul) – putting runners on second and third – giving the Yankees a chance to increase their 2-1 lead in the game. But, Roy White grounded out to third to end the frame.

Steve Kline, pitching for the Yankees, allowed a two-out three-run homer to the Rangers’ Ted Ford (a New Jersey native) in the top of the sixth. And, Kline then allowed four straight hits to start the seventh inning – enabling the Rangers to score two more runs. So, the Yankees found themselves trailing, 6-2, as they came to bat in the bottom of the seventh inning.

After Hal Lanier opened the Yankees seventh with a double against Mike Paul, the Rangers brought Paul Lindblad into the game. Lindblad allowed an RBI double to Horace Clarke and an RBI single to Thurman Munson, bringing the Yankees within two runs of the Rangers lead.

Next, it was Bobby Murcer’s turn to bat in the seventh. And, Murcer singled off Lindblad, moving Munson to second, while also forcing Lindblad out of the game. Having tripled, doubled and now singled, Murcer was just a homer short of the cycle.

Casey Cox came into the game for the Rangers and walked Roy White to load the bases with Yankees, with no outs, and New York needing two runs to tie the game. Cox got Ron Blomberg to foul out – off third base. And, it looked good for Cox when he got the next batter, Bernie Allen (who was pinch-hitting for Celerino Sanchez) to ground to Rangers first baseman Frank Howard.

However, while Howard got the force at second for one out, the Rangers shortstop, Jim Mason, could not turn the double-play (to end the inning). Munson scored for the Yankees (when Bernie Allen reached first) and the score was now just 6-5, in favor of Texas (in the seventh inning). Johnny Callison pinch-hit for Ron Swoboda and flew out to center to end the Yankees’ seventh.

The Rangers went one-two-three against the Yankees Ron Klimkowski (who replaced Steve Kline) in the top of the eighth inning. (Klimkowski, like the aforementioned Ted Ford, was also a New Jersey native.)

The Yankees managed to get Gene Michael to third with two outs in the bottom of the eighth. But, Thurman Munson grounded to short to end that threat. Klimkowski, still in the game for the Yankees, allowed a lead-off walk to start the ninth. But, he then got a strikeout and double-play to get out of trouble. This all set the stage for Bobby Murcer to lead-off the Yankees bottom of the ninth inning.

Murcer came to the plate, with the Yankees down by one and three outs away from a loss. He also needed a homerun for the cycle. The last Yankee to hit for the cycle was Mickey Mantle on July 23, 1957 – fifteen years prior.

Murcer had been swinging a hot bat. Coming into this game, he was 9 for his last 16 – including going four for seven during the second game of a double-header in a wild 16-inning win against the Royals on August 27th (which was the last game the Yankees played before this one against the Rangers – as they had no game on August 28th).

The Rangers brought in young lefty Steve Lawson to pitch the ninth inning with Murcer leading off. Lawson had only been in the big leagues for seven games, all in that August, prior to this game. And, Murcer promptly homered off Lawson – the first and last homer that Lawson would allow in his brief one-season major league career.

Bobby Murcer had become the first Yankees player to hit for the cycle since a 25-year old Mickey Mantle did it in 1957. And, he tied the game for the Yankees, at six, in the process, with a huge, clutch, homerun in the bottom of the ninth.

The Yankees would not score again in the ninth. Ron Klimkowski, still pitching for the Yankees, retired the Rangers in the tenth.

In the bottom of the tenth, John Ellis (pinch-hitting for Ron Klimkowski) walked with one out. Mel Stottlemyre replaced Ellis as a pinch-runner. Horace Clarke then also walked. Thurman Munson then grounded to second. However, the Rangers could not turn a double-play on the ball. This meant that Mel Stottlemyre was on third, Thurman Munson was on first, there were two outs, in a tie game, in the bottom of the tenth. And, that brought the latest Yankee to cycle, Bobby Murcer, to the plate.

Horacio Pina, who the Rangers brought into the game to face Munson, was on the hill. However, the Rangers had already seen enough of Bobby Murcer’s hot bat – and they intentionally walked him to load the bases. And, the move paid off as Pina then retired Roy White on a grounder to second to preserve the tie.

Sparky Lyle came into the game for the Yankees to pitch he eleventh and did not allow a run. In the bottom of the frame, Pina, still pitching for Texas, allowed walks to Ron Blomberg and Bernie Allen to start the inning. Johnny Callison then singled to left to score Blomberg and win the game for the Yankees.

New York would go on to lose the second game of the double-header that day, 7-4. Ron Klimkowski, who pitched three innings in the first game, got banged around in the seventh inning. (Fellow Jersey native Ted Ford even touched him for a homer in that inning.) Yankees skipper Ralph Houk went to the Klimkowski well too many times that day and it cost him.

But, Bobby Murcer also had a nice game in the night-cap. He went two for four – including a two-run homerun – and also another intentional pass from the Rangers.

For those Yankees fans too young to have seen Bobby Murcer play with the Yankees, in his prime, take a look at August 29, 1972. And, now you’ll know why so many old-time Yankees fans were in love with Murcer as a player. In many ways, he was the Don Mattingly and/or Derek Jeter of his time in Yankeeland.