Wrigleyville Pillar Passes Away
Jim Murphy, 54, Dies

UPDATED: 10:19 p.m. CST January 28, 2003

CHICAGO -- NBC5 reported some sad news about a well-known Chicagoan Tuesday night. Jim Murphy, owner of Murphy's Bleachers, has died.

The bar, located right across from Wrigley Field at 3655 N. Sheffield, is where many have gone to celebrate a Cubs victory or drown the sorrows of a loss.

It is a tavern rich with Chicago history and, as NBC5's Jennifer Mitchell reported, its' proprietor will be missed by many.

Murphy, 54, died Tuesday afternoon at Rush-Presbyterian St. Luke's Medical Center, according to the medical examiner's office. Friends of the family told Mitchell that he was taken to the hospital Monday night after experiencing complications of pneumonia, but the medical examiner's office has not released the official cause of desk.

According to a friend, Murphy had been in and out of the hospital in recent weeks.

As owner of Murphy's Bleachers since 1980, Murphy has been an outspoken voice of opposition to the Cubs' bleacher expansion project.

According to Mitchell, his bar is considered to be the original rooftop in Wrigleyville.

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