KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Hardin Valley baseball team hosted a fundraising event on Wednesday night, featuring MLB legend Dale Murphy.
Murphy played 18 years in the majors for the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies and Colorado Rockies. His best years were in Atlanta from 1976 to 1990. During that time, Murphy won consecutive National League MVP awards, four consecutive Silver Slugger Awards and five consecutive Gold Glove Awards. He finished his career with 398 home runs.
Following an autograph signing, attendees filed into the school's auditorium to hear Murphy speak. After a video of Murphy's Braves highlights played, he walked on stage and spoke for about 20 minutes. His speech focused on the importance of relationships in baseball, leadership and helping others.
"Number one, help somebody. Be their mentor, be their coach, be in their corner. Number two is don't quit. Just keep going," he said.
Murphy also told lighthearted stories about his playing days and expressed his joy for the Braves winning the 2021 World Series. He concluded his time by leading the crowd in singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame."
This is not the first time the Hardin Valley baseball team welcomed a baseball legend to its campus. Last year, the Hawks hosted Pete Rose. The team also held Zoom meetings with Hall of Famers Cal Ripken Jr. and Greg Maddux. Two-time World Series champion Joe Maddon also spoke to the Hardin Valley players.
"They're 14 years old. They are not going to really know people that played 40 years ago. They are doing their homework on them. They are studying the game of baseball and different generations of baseball, so it has made them more passionate about the game and students of the game," said Hardin Valley head baseball coach Tyler Roach.
The Hawks start their season with a triple-header on March 5 against Loudon, Gibbs and Clinton.