injury during the 2004 ALCS against the New York Yankees. “Another friend of ours Pam and I used to double with all through college was Dr. Billy Morgan,” Murray said. “He said, ‘Muggsy, you’re not going to believe it. I come home late one night. We’re down three games to none against the Yankees and I said, what am I going to do? (Schilling) is healthy as an ox from the ankle up. If I can do something medically to stabilize that tendon, we could get some use out of him.’” Morgan would visit the morgue at Massachusetts General Hospital where he found two cadavers to experiment on where he would find a way to stabilize Schilling’s ankle and get him through the iconic “Bloody Sock” game. The Red Sox have won two World Series since in 2007 and 2013. ‘From Little Russ to Big Muggs’ It’s hard to fathom today that the five-time Super Bowl champion New England Patriots would ever have a problem getting people in the stands. But long before Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski in Murray’s younger days, that was the case when the then Boston Patriots helped start the American Football League (AFL). “We used to be able to take a free bus over with free tickets,” he said. “They quit doing that because there wasn’t even enough people to fill the buses.” Across the league meant to rival the well-established National Football League, fans found AFL teams far more accessible, and this was no different in the Boston area. “When we were kids, a guy in the neighborhood would take a bunch of us little kids over to their training camp and it was very lax,” Murray said. “The fans could walk around because there weren’t many of us. The following just wasn’t what it is today.” With the sport still growing in popularity overall and the new league trying to get any footing it could, Murray noted the presentation was night and day compared to what we’d see in professional football today. “It wasn’t as near professional as it is today,” he said. “The uniforms would have holes in them. Today they get five jerseys brand new and everything’s spectacular and well-maintained and well-kept today. You look at the old pictures of Fenway Park, it’s tattered, the (grass) wasn’t green. Today you don’t see any of that.” As with the Red Sox, the Patriots had more bad days than good as Murray grew up, including a 46-10 beat down courtesy of the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XX, a 51-10 rout by the San Diego Chargers in the 1963 AFL Championship and a loss to Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXI. “I was a Patriot fan and wore all this stuff and memorabilia when we were 1-15,” he said. “All those people that razz and ride me these days, I say, ‘I remember the bad days and I was still there for them in those days.’” Murray’s had the opportunity to meet a few more recent Patriots players, including South Dakota native Adam Vinatieri. Hartington, Nebraska native and former Patriots player Russ Hochstein also made a stop at Muggsy’s, and this gave Murray a chance to stretch his height a bit. “I said, ‘Russ, I want to get a picture for the wall,’” he said. “I’m standing on a chair next to him and he said, ‘What’re you doing?’ ‘Just shut up and take the picture.’ We took the picture, I cropped the chair out so now I look huge. I only come up to about (his chest). I’m real little to him, but in the picture I look pretty big because of the way I cropped it. I want him to sign it, ‘From Little Russ to Big Muggs.’” Lyle Alzado Murray’s had the experience of meeting a number of sports stars who aren’t quite associated with Boston, including former University of Florida basketball coach Billy Donovan, baseball great Pete Rose, basketball Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen and more. But one of the sports relationships Murray remembers most fondly is his relationship with the late Lyle Alzado. Murray befriended Alzado when the two attended Yankton College. At one point, Alzado — whose many non-football ventures included boxing — gave the Murrays a chance to see one of the biggest sports legends of all time in action. “I come home from work one day and my wife goes, ‘Lyle called and he says he’s got tickets for you and me in Denver. He’s going to fight vMURRAY continued on page 13 Prescriptions Filled. Expectations Exceeded. We go the extra mile to ensure you receive the friendly service, fair prices and pharmacy expertise you deserve for your entire family. Byron, R.Ph. We can help make taking your medications easier by synchronizing your refills so you can make less visits to the pharmacy. We offer free in-town delivery. Visit our website at www.rogersfamilypharmacy.com or sign up for our convenient mobile app and you can simplify your life by refilling or transferring your prescriptions to us online. 218 W. 4th Street, Yankton, SD • 605.665.8042 • www.rogersfamilypharmacy.com HISVOICEvMARCH/APRIL 2018v7