A native of Chester, Pennsylvania, Murtaugh appeared in all or parts of nine big-league seasons, initially for the Philadelphia Phillies (1941–43, 1946) and Boston Braves (1947) before joining the Pirates (1948–51). He threw and batted right-handed and was listed as 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m) tall and 165 pounds (75 kg).\n', '

His professional baseball career began in 1937 in the St. Louis Cardinals\' vast farm system. Murtaugh was in the midst of his second consecutive stellar season with the Houston Buffaloes of the Texas League in June 1941 when the Phillies purchased his contract; he then made his MLB debut on July 3 as a defensive replacement for Hal Marnie against Boston at Braves Field. The following day he started both ends of a July 4 doubleheader and essentially took over as the Phils\' regular second baseman.\n', '

As a rookie, Murtaugh led the National League in stolen bases with 18, even though he played only 85 games after his acquisition from Houston in late June. In 1942–43 he got into 257 total games before joining the United States Army in August 1943 for World War II service. He declined the opportunity to play baseball in the United States and served in combat with the 97th Infantry in Germany.\n', '

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