Brewers manager Pat Murphy talks of his friendship with Rudy Ruettiger, of 'Rudy' movie fame

PHOENIX – It all began with an innocuous question.

During Pat Murphy’s daily media briefing on Sunday morning, conversation shifted to the Milwaukee Brewers manager’s time spent coaching at Notre Dame in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Did Murphy know Rudy Ruettiger, the famous walk-on football player whose eponymous movie “Rudy” has been an inspirational favorite since its release in 1993?

“I know Rudy really well,” Murphy said, matter-of-factly. “I knew him before they made the movie.”

Once it became clear Murphy was, in fact, serious, he was pressed for further information.

“Actually, he asked me to be in the movie,” he said. “Seriously. True story. They used my office every day for the setup and all that stuff, meetings in the morning.”

From there, Murphy was off and rolling.

He told stories about those involved in the making of the movie, how the movie came about being made, actors in the movie and, of course, how he came to know Ruettiger.

“I was a fanatic for Notre Dame,” Murphy said. “Notre Dame football, I knew every player on the team. You say right now 1973, give me a number of any player and I’ll tell you his name. Or, you give me a name of any player and I’ll give you his number.

“I memorized the program. And 45 was Dan Ruettiger. So, when I was first introduced to him when I first got the job and before they made the movie he would say, ‘Hi Coach, I’m Dan Ruettiger.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, No. 45.’ And he looked at me like, ‘You know me?’

“Then we struck up a friendship.”

Murphy then explained the role Ruettiger actually tried getting Murphy in the movie.

“I was going to play Gordie Gillespie, his coach in high school,” he said. “But I was (in my low 30s) and looked so young and Gordie was so old school.”

On and on the conversation about Rudy continued, for probably another 20 minutes, before Murphy had to tend to other matters and the meeting adjourned.

Fast-forward to Monday night, and by some stroke of luck TNT was broadcasting Rudy – a fact that was communicated to Murphy as he made his way into his office for his media briefing on Tuesday morning.

Without changing his expression, Murphy sat down at his desk, picked up his phone and proceeded to dial a number via FaceTime.

When the call was picked up on the other end, Murphy offered no greeting.

“Yeah, I’m in my media session right now,” he said into his phone. “All they want to talk about is Rudy, Rudy, Rudy.”

Then Murphy turned the phone around to face the assembled reporters.

On the screen was none other than Ruettiger himself.

And for the next 10 minutes or so, Ruettiger himself answered a few reporters’ questions – “For some reason, it makes me watch it," – he said when asked if he watches the movie himself if he ever comes across it on TV.

He also plugged the director’s cut version of Rudy that was released in November on the 30^th anniversary and promised Murphy he’d have some cheese sent to him. Yes, as if there was another Wisconsin connection needed, Ruettiger is affiliated with Dairyland Trading LLC, a cheese wholesaling and grading business based in De Pere.

Before signing off, Brewers television personality Sophia Minnaert made an astute observation.

“Rudy, we need to get you a hat,” she said, noting the Yankees lid Ruettiger was sporting. “We need to change that Yankees hat.”

Ruettiger explained he was wearing it in honor of Mariano Rivera after meeting him years ago.

Then he and Murphy bid adieu, leaving the several media members who also took part to ask themselves what surprise the first-year skipper might unveil next.

“That was fun,” Murphy said. “But it’s real.”

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers coach Pat Murphy a friend of Notre Dame legend Rudy Ruettiger