MLB

YANKEES ICON MURCER DEAD

Yankee icon Bobby Murcer died yesterday at the age of 62 because of complications from brain cancer. He passed away at Mercy Hospital in his hometown of Oklahoma City, surrounded by family, including his wife Kay and children Tori and Todd. He was first diagnosed with the disease on Christmas Eve, 2006.

Bobby Murcer Photo Gallery

SHERMAN: Remembering Murcer

“Bobby Murcer was a born Yankee, a great guy, very well liked and a true friend of mine,” George Steinbrenner said in a statement. “I extend my deepest sympathies to his wife Kay, their children and grandchildren. I will really miss the guy.”

Murcer starred in the field and in the broadcast booth and treated everyone with kindness. His death brought tears to the eyes of Yankee manager Joe Girardi, a former broadcast partner on YES.

“Bobby tried to make life better for people around him,” Girardi said.

That was the essence of Bobby Ray Murcer, who played 17 years in the majors with the Yankees, Giants and Cubs, batting .277 with 252 home runs. He was a five-time All-Star, a starting outfielder four times. The final All-Star Game to be played at Yankee Stadium will be Tuesday. There will be sadness in the air with Murcer’s passing.

“Bobby was the best – all the good adjectives fit Bobby,” said Yankee senior VP Stick Michael, a former Yank teammate of Murcer.

“I didn’t know it was going to go this fast. I talked to him three or four weeks ago. Bobby was great when I played with him, great when I played against him in the minor leagues and great when I managed him. He was a fantastic person.

“The thing that struck me about Bobby is that he was so calm going to the plate,” Michael added. “I asked him once, ‘How do you stay so calm?’ It was just his nature. He’d get big hits. It was a natural thing for him to get big hits like in the ‘Thurman Munson Game.’ ”

There will be a family service in Oklahoma City in a few days, and the Yankees are planning a celebration of Murcer’s life at a later date.

They will wear black armbands on their uniforms for the rest of the season, starting today.

Murcer’s business partner, Spencer Lader, said, “I remember once when we were walking through the Baltimore airport and people kept coming up for his autograph and I said, ‘Bobby, isn’t that a pain in the neck?’ He said, ‘Spencer, you know when I’m going to be upset? When they stop asking.’ ”

Murcer’s most memorable day was that “Farewell to the Captain” game on Aug. 6, 1979. After delivering one of eulogies earlier in the day at Munson’s funeral in Ohio, Murcer knocked in all five runs to beat the Orioles 5-4 at Yankee Stadium.

Yankee broadcast partner Ken Singleton was on that Orioles team.

“Bobby sent me an e-mail about a month ago and said he was sorry but he was going to have to miss some games and talked a little bit about what he was going through,” Singleton said.

At the press conference last August to promote “Farewell to the Captain” Murcer said he had come to grips with his illness. “I consider every day a gift,” he said.

The only Yankee to play with Mickey Mantle and Don Mattingly, Murcer was a gift to Yankee fans in so many ways for 43 years. He made his Yankee debut in 1965 as a 19-year-old shortstop, but soon moved to center field like Mantle, another kid from Oklahoma.

“I will never forget how giving he was of his time, working for charities,” Singleton added in a voice choked with emotion. “A bunch of us are going out tonight to celebrate Bobby.”

Additional reporting

by George A. King III

kevin.kernan@nypost.com