BILLERICA — Billerica’s Kyle Murphy played four years of Div. 1 college baseball and spent a couple seasons in the professional ranks. After all that time on fields all over the country, he still remembers some of Billerica High coach Joe Higgins’ favorite sayings, including one made famous by Major League baseball legend Ernie Banks.
“It’s a beautiful day for a ballgame, let’s play two,” Murphy said with a laugh when asked to recall his favorite Joe-ism. “Even if it was raining outside, he still might say that.” Tuesday, at Billerica’s Marshall Middle School, the Indians won’t be playing two, but the one that is scheduled sure is big.
No, the veteran coach’s team doesn’t need a victory to reach the state tournament. BMHS is 12-5 entering the game against Woburn, has already won a Merrimack Valley Conference championship and might be hosting a playoff game when the playoffs start. What is significant about Tuesday? It marks the final regular season home game for Higgins as Billerica’s coach, who will retire after the season, and Murphy and many former players will be in attendance to pay homage to Higgins, a baseball coach for the past 40 years in some capacity at Billerica High and Concord-Carlisle High School.
His coaching career in Billerica started with the junior varsity squad in 1998. After a stint as an assistant at C-C, he came back to the green and white, taking over as head coach of the BMHS varsity program in 2008 when legendary skipper .
