When St. Thomas High School President James “Jim” Murphy got the call from the Houston Astros inviting him to come on up to the big leagues to sing the national anthem at a Blue Jays game last month, he jumped at the chance. To get ready, he first warmed up his vocal chords, second, double checked he still knew the lyrics and finally, headed to Minute Maid Park.
Father Murphy wasn’t the only one who had dreamed of standing on Major League Baseball turf. After graduating from St. Thomas High School in 2013, baseball standout Cavan Biggio — the youngest son of Astros’ legendary Hall of Famer Craig Biggio — headed north to hit the baseball diamond for the Notre Dame Mighty Fighting Irish. In 2016, he was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays, and, over the next three years, worked hard to move up the ranks with lots of stops along the way including a menagerie of farm teams: the Vancouver Canadians, Lansing Lugnuts, Dunedin Blue Jays, New Hampshire Fisher Cats and the Buffalo Bisons. Then, on May 24, 2019 Cavan got his big league call up to the Toronto Blue Jays.
Almost as awesome as a grand slam, Cavan was thrilled that the Jays’ upcoming schedule included a road series against the Astros. Cavan looked forward to seeing family and friends and getting his H-Town fix.
Since the Toronto Blue Jays are based in Canada, in addition to playing “The Star Spangled Banner,” Jays MLB pregame ceremonies include the national anthem of Canada, “O Canada.”
If you’re in Texas and you need some one to sing “The Stars at Night are Big and Bright…Deep in the Heart of Texas,” we are there for you, heck we’ll even throw in the claps for free. But need someone to sing the Canadian Anthem? You’ll probably have better luck finding some Canadian bacon.
Luckily, Cavan and his dad, Craig, knew just the person to suggest for the job: STH’s very own, Father Murphy.
During Cavan and his older brother, Conor’s high school days, Father Murphy often sang the national anthem before home baseball games, including while Craig was the STH baseball coach. So the Biggio family knew Father Murphy had a decent set a pipes on him.
Alma Connor, mother of STH student Daniel Irr, was in the crowd and captured Father Murphy’s performance on video.
“We had just found our seats when all of a sudden I heard them announce the Canadian anthem and heard Father Murphy’s name,” Alma explained. “Sure enough, he popped into view on the Jumbotron so I switched my phone to video!”
It was a great night. Cavan got his dream of playing in Minute Maid Park where he hung out as a kid, and Father Murphy’s singing performance went viral. The home team ended the game with a win, and the night was a winning combination for both Cavan and Father Murphy, a pair of swinging and singing St. Thomas High School Eagles legends.
Editor’s Note: The Astros have another three-game series this weekend. Check their full season schedule here.