H. Gabriel Murphy, 98; Tried to Keep Team in Washington

H. Gabriel Murphy, 98, the largest minority owner of the original Washington Senators who waged a losing fight to keep the baseball team in the nation’s capital, died of a heart ailment Thursday at his home there.

Murphy, a onetime insurance company executive, was a 40% shareholder when the team’s owner, Calvin Griffith, began to entertain offers in the 1950s to move the team. Murphy strongly opposed moving the Senators.

A private feud that had developed between the two men erupted during the 1956 All Star game in Washington when Murphy was quoted as being critical of Griffith’s management of the team. Murphy quit his position as the team’s treasurer and filed suit in an unsuccessful attempt to stop the Senators from moving to Minneapolis.

Murphy ultimately sold his stake in the club to Carl Pohlad, who bought the Twins from Griffith that year for $36 million. Murphy continued to run his insurance firm, which specialized in fine art coverage, until his retirement in 1994.