Bridgewater-Raritan greats Eric Murdock, Lance Miller restoring storied Hobbstown park
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BRIDGEWATER – Back in the day, some 40 years ago, Somerville Manor Court was the place to be in the Hobbstown section of the township.
Between Sussex and Monmouth avenues was a rectangular playground consisting of a basketball court, a baseball field and a pavilion next to swing sets.
Basketball was in charge of the park, especially during summer, when players from surrounding Somerset County towns would compete with and against the locals.
For kids in the neighborhood, like Eric Murdock and Lance Miller, the court was a second home. They would also compete in Pop Warner and baseball, but basketball was their true love.
The game took them into college, and college took them into the pros. Murdock was a standout guard at Providence College, Miller a 6-5 inside-out player at Villanova who would be inducted to its Athletic Hall of Fame. He would play professionally overseas nine years. Murdock went on to play in the NBA eight years.
They were teammates at Bridgewater-Raritan West in the 1980s. Murdock led the Falcons to the 1987 Group III state championship. Miller then led them to a Group III title and a Group II championship.
They dropped by the park to chat last week, reminiscing about the days of learning the game, sometimes spending all day on the court. The memories were everywhere.
All that was missing were kids.
But who could blame them? Cracks displayed the court’s age, with grass running fast breaks in every direction. Curved concrete stanchions looked like Jurassic Park creatures, with metal backboards choking weather-beaten rims.
Sitting on a splintered picnic table under the pavilion, with a garbage can teasing flies, Murdock and Miller couldn’t get over the condition of what was once an oasis.
“I hadn’t been down here in years,” Murdock said. “Last month I drove by and saw this and said, ‘Ah, man, we have to do something.’
The beginning of restoring pride on the grounds had begun three years ago when its name was changed to David and Philip Miller Park, honoring the brothers who served as role models for kids in the neighborhood.
There will be new role models now. Call it the law firm of Murdock and Miller.
Eric Murdock: 'It's time for me to give back'
The Eric Murdock Foundation and Team Miller are holding a basketball tournament Sept. 16 at Bridgewater-Raritan High School. Named 3-V-3, with 3-on-3 games (maximum five players on a team), the tournament is separated into groups of 5th and 6th graders, 7th and 8th, 9th and 10th, 11th and 12th, as well as adult men’s and women’s teams.
Winners will receive a trophy and T-shirts. There will be a DJ and food vendors. Murdock reached out to the Miami Heat for player autographs, and Providence College is sending giveaways.
Proceeds will go towards the rebuilding of David and Phillip Miller Park.
The goal, Murdock said, is 100 teams.
“There is no goal financially,” he said. “We’re going to try and make as much money as possible, via admissions ($10; no fee for players), and we’re trying to get sponsors and donations. We figure it’s going to cost a minimum of $100,000 to upgrade.”
Donations can be made through the EMF, P.O. Box 6278, Bridgewater, 08807, by Zelle to theeericmurdockfoundation@gmail, or by Cash APP to $emurdockfoundation.
Two courts will highlight the grounds, with seats for onlookers. The pavilion will be repaired, the lawn manicured, garbage cans emptied.
“I don’t even want to bring my grand-daughter down here because it’s not in good condition,’’ said Murdock, 55. “The pulse is very low here, but eventually it’s gonna’ be alive.”
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On Thursday evening Murdock told the Township Council about the vision to "resuscitate" the park.
"I haven't been this nervous since my rookie year playing against Michael Jordan," he said.
The park played a vital role in his life. "That parked raised me," he said.
"I wouldn't have made it to the NBA if it wasn't for the park," he said, explaining that's where he and others learned "competitiveness, integrity, respect and how to be a team player."
"When you're getting older, you think of your legacy," Murdock continued. "I lived a dream. Right now, it's time for me to give back."
The Township Council thanked Murdock for his efforts and endorsed the project.
"You are to be commended for your generosity," said Councilman Howard Norgalis.
Hobbstown produces Bridgewater athletic royalty
Hobbstown, 1.7 square miles located off North Bridge Street, was strongly family oriented when they were kids, and they weren’t the only standout athletes to come out of the section. David Miller played at Villanova with his brother. Ernie Van Ness won a state wrestling championship at Bridgewater West. Jon Williams was a tot here before his family moved to Somerville, though his father and Murdock’s mother were brother and sister. He played for the Pioneers and went on to Penn State.
Several athletes went to Division I schools, others to DII and DIII programs. Many of them were relatives.
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“We leaned on our neighbors for sugar, milk, whatever we needed. We were poor,” Murdock said. “If you did something wrong in the community, you not only got beat down by your parents, but the Millers were over there, the Avants over here, the Hobbs over there. Really, we were raised by a village.
“That’s the uniqueness of this town. The love. We have family reunions; people come back, all related somehow. Our grandparents had 19 kids. No lie. My grandmother (now 96) had nine kids, and on average her kids had seven kids. We have pro athletes, lawyers, doctors, and outcasts; we have the whole gamut,” he said with a laugh.
But it was the Millers who impacted these two the most.
“For me, my dad (David) and Uncle Phil, that’s all they knew,” Miller said about being helpful, doing the right thing. “It wasn’t like they thought what they could do to give back. That’s all they did. It was just there. It was natural. When I got older, I realized what they did, and that it was the right way to be.”
Miller, who works in sales at a Bridgewater car dealership, is program director for girls AAU teams. He resides in Somerset, his daughter Diamond a rookie in the WNBA.
Murdock works for the Bridgewater Recreation Department, primarily running clinics and doing camps.
“For me, it’s all about legacy. Am I a guy who will be remembered as a guy who played in the NBA, then kind of wallowed around and just died?” he said. “People would say, ‘Besides the NBA, what did he do? Well, he had a foundation. He helped kids at the Martin Luther King Center every year with school supplies, helped some single mothers pay some bills, helped restore a historic basketball court.
“That’s what I want people to think about Eric Murdock. That’s what it’s all about for me right now. I’ve had the greatest life you could possibly live. I lived a dream. Now I want to give back to the community, to people in need.
“Everybody who’s been successful has somebody in their life that gave them a little more. They believed in you. So why can’t we be that for somebody else growing up, where they just need a little push, a little mentorship, a little of this to take them over the top. That’s where our mindset is right now.”
There, and to honor David and Phillip Miller Park.
Paul Franklin is a freelance reporter for MyCentralJersey.com.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Eric Murdock, Lance Miller restoring Bridgewater NJ Hobbstown park
