Elmhurst man catches history

While Tuesday, August 7 was a historic night in San Francisco for Giants slugger Barry Bonds as he broke Major League Baseball’s all-time home run record, one lucky Elmhurst native made the catch of his life - in more ways than one.
Wearing his New York Mets No. 7 Jose Reyes jersey, 22-year-old Matt Murphy, who is an Archbishop Molloy High School graduate, emerged from the frenzied crowd of fans in the right-centerfield stands carrying Bonds’ 756th home run ball.
Bob Andrews, who was Murphy’s track and field coach at Archbishop Molloy for at least three years, described Murphy as a nice kid.
Murphy, who was in San Francisco with a friend that day before a planned trip to Australia, decided to buy tickets for the night game - an investment that could likely turn into a big payday for him.
“He’s a big sports fan,” said Tim Heaney, who works for the Minor League Long Island Ducks baseball team and is in a Fantasy Baseball League with Murphy. “It doesn’t surprise me that he bought a ticket on a whim to the game. He’s like that.”
Experts are already predicting that memorabilia collectors might be willing to pay close to $1 million for the historic home run ball.
“Since everyone found out, our [fantasy baseball] league has been up in arms,” Heaney said. “Maybe he can pay our league fees from now on.”
After catching the historic homerun, security escorted Murphy away from his seat, he only shouted his name and place of residence to reporters. He also declined to speak with the media following the game.
For Bonds’ part, he told reporters after the game that he was not interested in getting the ball from Murphy.
“I just hope he didn’t get hurt,” Bond said. “I don’t want the ball. I’ve never believed a home run ball belonged to the player. If he caught it, it’s his.”