Calvin Murray – 1990-1992
Calvin’s oral history is at the link
https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/calviin-murray-19901992
Note: to the left, in red font, are all the podcast sections.
Calvin Murray’s oral History segment on TLSN is sponsored by Pat Frost @ Frost National Bank. More sponsors are needed to continue capturing the stories of those who created Longhorn sports history. As of this writing, TLSN has 23 oral history segments.
“I didn’t want to have to be a `grown man’ going to work when I was only 18,” Murray said. “I wanted to enjoy myself in a college atmosphere, and I would also have the freedom to drive home and see my family if I wanted to.”
During his high school years, he was considered the #7 recruit on the national level. He was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 1989 draft but did not sign, choosing instead to attend the University of Texas.
The Big Leagues and dreams of big dollars were not quite enough to tempt Calvin away from his family and time to develop in one of the country’s best collegiate baseball programs – and Texas coaches were glad to hear it.
“I just wasn’t ready to start that chapter of my life. When I was coming out of high school I had dreams of winning a national championship. I knew I wanted to come to college.”
“Calvin was one of the first first-round picks to choose to come to school, so he was a trendsetter in that respect,” Texas associate head Coach Tommy Harmon added. “It turned out well for him, and we were very fortunate it happened.”
“C” would roam the Texas outfield and menace opposing pitchers on the bases for the next three seasons.
While playing for the university team, the Texas Longhorns, he set many records and received several honors. He also represented the US at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games.
During his freshman year, Murray played 67 out of his team’s 68 games and recorded 49 stolen bases, which was a record. He was one of the fastest players at the university. At the end of his ‘Texas Longhorns’ career, his batting average was .311, with runs scored 197 (with 14 triples), 8 home runs, and 139 stolen bases. He was the all-time leader in stolen bases at the ‘Southwest Conference.’
In 1992, Murray was chosen as a member of the USA Baseball National Team. He represented the U.S. at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. He was selected ‘First-Team All-American’ and was named ‘Most Outstanding Player at the NCAA in 1992.’ He led the Texas Longhorns to the College World Series. He holds the university team’s top three single-season stolen base records (one for each season he played).
In 1992, Calvin Murray led the team in many categories, including games played, at-bats, runs, hits, batting average, and, of course, steals. He would also lead the Longhorns to the College World Series and was recognized by being named a first-team All-American and Most Outstanding Player at the NCAA Regional that year.
“Making it to Omaha was probably my biggest accomplishment as a Longhorn because we had a lot of pressure on us since we got eliminated my freshman and sophomore year,” Murray said. “I was MVP of the regional at Omaha, and that was a really special moment because I felt I came up big at a tough moment. Unfortunately, we didn’t win a national championship, but making it to Omaha and playing well there was really special for me.”
Murray was selected to be a member of the U.S. National Team and played in the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. The year was capped off by the San Francisco Giants selecting Murray as the seventh overall pick in the draft for a much more lucrative contract than was offered three years before.
“He had great talent all around, but his speed was number one,” Harmon noted. “He is probably the fastest player ever to play here. His speed created havoc for the other team, and he played centerfield like no one else, and those are the things that got him to the major leagues, too.”
“Calvin is an exciting player, very personable, and a great leader,” Coach Harmon remarked. “Everybody respects him, coaches and players – he was just born that way.”
When asked about what being inducted to the Longhorn Hall of Honor meant to him, Murray remembered one of his first encounters on the 40 acres.
“When I first walked into Bellmont as a freshman and saw those pictures on the wall, it was pretty cool even though I didn’t know exactly what it meant at the time,” Murray said. “I knew enough to realize that those men had done something pretty special at this university, and I always had it in the back of my mind that I wanted to be up there someday.
As a junior, Murray was both a first-team All-Southwest Conference and an All-American honoree. He also became the first member of U.T.’s baseball program to play for the United States in the Olympics.
Among the all-time records on the 40 Acres, Murray ranks fifth in career runs scored (197). In addition, no Texas player has gotten within 40 steals of Murray, who swiped 139 career bags. Murray is also tied to U.T.’s first-, second-and third-best single-season marks in steals.
A Dallas native, Murray was a first-round draft pick out of high school. After choosing to attend Texas instead, Murray kept that first-round grade. Selected by San Francisco with the seventh overall pick in 1992, Murray went on to play five seasons in the major leagues.
A Special Place in Longhorn Sports History
News on Bevo Beat
Based on players’ college stats and accomplishments (not professional stats), along with consideration given to their positional fits as well as a batting order that could provide a combination of a high batting average, speed, and power, here is Texas baseball’s all-time starting lineup.
1. Leftfield – Calvin Murray (1990-92)Murray left Austin, Tex., as the program’s career leader in steals with 139. Remarkably, he holds Texas’ best (49), second-best (47), and third-best (43) single-season steals totals. So if the Longhorns want a speed component to their all-time lineup — which they probably should — Murray is the best choice. But he wasn’t a one-trick pony at Texas. Murray hit a team-best .351 in 1992, drew 127 career walks (ninth-best career total in Texas history), recorded 14 triples in college, and scored 197 runs in his career. Few players were better at getting on base, stealing bags, and ultimately scoring, making Murray a valuable offensive addition to Texas’ all-time starting nine and a key hitter at the top of the batting order. The link to all nine players is listed below.
https://www.texaslsn.org/texas-top-9-baseball-players
In 2007, Murray was inducted into the university’s ‘Longhorn Hall of Honor.’
Professionally
He played 13 years of professional ball, including five seasons in the Major Leagues with the Giants, Texas Rangers, and Chicago Cubs.
He was the batter facing Randy Johnson when Johnson hit a dove with a fastball in a spring training game in 2001.
