The Bad Joke

April 29, 2023

Good evening. This is Dead Legends. The baseball newsletter that prides ourself on having a set of marbles.

We were traveling yesterday, but we’ve got a Sunday doubleheader lined up for you tomorrow.

Let’s dive in.

Today’s story is about a joke that went a little too far and the player who got shot because of it.

Joe Mulvey played almost all of his 12-year career in Philly.

He held down the hot corner for the Quakers, the Athletics, and the Phillies.

Mulvey was never anything special at the plate - he hit below .300 his entire career - but he was an animal at third.

These were in the days when fielders still wore no glove, or a super thin one like this:

So basically, he was using less protection than a spring breaker in South Florida.

Joe frequently had bruised hands and broken fingers, but he was one of the best defensive third baseman of this era.

However, his career almost ended before it even started.

Before Joe got to Philly, he made his major-league debut with the Providence Grays.

During his time with the Grays, there was a fan named James aka “Jimmy” Murphy, who was known to be a bit off his rocker.

Murphy was delusional and thought of himself as a great ballplayer even though all signs pointed towards the opposite.

He was known to show up to the Grays’ practices and even work out with the club from time to time.

But something about Murphy was “off” and thus the Grays’ players messed with him a lot.

One day, during practice, a Providence outfielder named Cliff Carroll drenched Murphy with a hose.

It was meant to be a joke, but Jimmy didn’t find that shit funny.

Murphy left the ballpark and returned later that afternoon with a gun.

He waited outside the player’s exit and when he had Cliff Carroll in his sights, he squeezed the trigger.

Fortunately, no one was killed, but Murphy missed Carroll altogether and instead the bullet hit Joe Mulvey in the right shoulder.

Jimmy fled the scene, but was arrested later that evening.

Luckily, the bullet only grazed Mulvey and the wound was not life-threatening.

Matter of fact, he was in the line up the next day for an exhibition game against the Woonsocket Comets.

Because in 1883, if you can’t take a bullet and get back in the box the next day, you were considered soft I guess.

He went 2 for 5.

The Glory Days

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If you're just joining us, we play this game every day where we try to find the weirdest names throughout baseball history.

Why? Don't ask us, it's just something we like to do.

If you've been rocking with us for awhile now, you know what time it is.

Today's winner is:

Although he didn’t play much in the MLB, Gordon definitely made some big contributions to the game.

Goldsberry spent most of his playing career in the Pacific Coast League, and then became a scout.

He is most famous for discovering hall of famer Robin Yount.

If you like this story, check out some of our past favorites:

That's it for today. Tomorrow we're back at it like a bad habit. See ya!

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