Ivan Augustus Murrell Peters (April 24, 1943 – October 8, 2006) was an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

who played for the Houston Colt .45's / Astros,

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

and

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

in all or parts of nine seasons spanning 1963–1974. Listed at 6' 2", 195 lb., Murrell batted and threw right handed. He was born in Almirante,

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

. Murrell played in part of four seasons for Houston teams before being chosen by San Diego in the

1968 Major League Baseball expansion draft The 1968 Major League Baseball expansion draft was conducted to stock up the rosters of four expansion teams in Major League Baseball created via the 1969 Major League Baseball expansion and which would begin play in the 1969 season. The expans ...

. His most productive season came in 1970 with the Padres, when he posted career-highs in

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s (12), RBI (35), runs (41),

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

(85) and

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Associat ...

(125). He played his last major league season for the Braves. In a career that spanned a decade, Murrell was a .236 hitter with 33 home runs and 123 RBI in 564 games. In 1989, Murrell joined the St. Lucie Legends of the

Senior Professional Baseball Association The Senior Professional Baseball Association, referred to commonly as the ''Senior League'', was a winter baseball league based in Florida for players age 35 and over, with a minimum age of 32 for catchers. The league began play in 1989 and had ei ...

, hitting .272 with five home runs in 47 games. He also worked as a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

and a

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

for the Houston Astros organization. Murrell died in

Stuart, Florida Stuart is a city in and the county seat of Martin County, Florida, United States. Located in southeastern Florida, Stuart is the largest of five Municipal corporation, incorporated municipalities in Martin County. The population is 17,425 accordi ...

, at age 63.

Facts

*Murrell was also an undefeated

middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have beg ...

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

and was selected to play on Panama's football team in the

1963 Pan American Games The 1963 Pan American Games, officially known as the IV Pan American Games () and commonly known as São Paulo 1963, were held from April 20 to May 5, 1963, in São Paulo, Brazil. Host city selection For the first time, two cities submitted b ...

. *Created the ''Ivan Murrell Foundation'', a charity that helps give underprivileged kids educational opportunities in and out of baseball. * In

Fresnillo Fresnillo () is a city in north central Mexico, founded in 1554 by Francisco de Ibarra. It is the second largest city in Zacatecas state and the seat of Fresnillo municipality. As a rail and highway junction, Fresnillo is the center of a rich ...

they nicknamed him "La Pantera Panameña"

External links

Retrosheet
1943 births 2006 deaths Alacranes de Durango players Amarillo Gold Sox players Angeles de Puebla players Atlanta Braves players Bravos de León players Cachorros de León players Cardenales de Lara players Durham Bulls players Hawaii Islanders players Houston Astros players Houston Astros scouts Houston Colt .45s players Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from Panama 20th-century Panamanian sportsmen Mexican League baseball players Moultrie Colt .22s players Navegantes del Magallanes players Panamanian expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Oklahoma City 89ers players Panamanian expatriate baseball players in Mexico Panamanian expatriate baseball players in the United States People from Changuinola District Potros de Tijuana players San Diego Padres players Saraperos de Saltillo players St. Lucie Legends players Tecolotes de Nuevo Laredo players Tiburones de La Guaira players {{Panama-baseball-bio-stub

Facts

See also

External links