Record Home Run Ball Nets NYC Fan A New Career

Associated Press

August 12, 2008

NEW YORK -- The fan who caught Barry Bonds' record-breaking 756th home run ball last year says it has been the equivalent of a grand slam for him.

New Yorker Matt Murphy has used proceeds from the roughly $752,000 sale of the sought-after ball to move into a new apartment, invest in the stock market and go into the specialty sneaker business. He and two friends are opening a Manhattan store called Solefood NYC on Friday.

The 22-year-old Murphy snagged the ball at AT&T Park in San Francisco on Aug. 7, 2007.

Fashion designer Mark Ecko bought the ball at an auction and donated it to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in upstate Cooperstown. Murphy split the proceeds with a friend who went to the game with him.

Meanwhile, Bonds has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of lying to a grand jury about his use of performance-enhancing drugs.