Born in Naugatuck, Connecticut he acquired his Irish brogue from his father, an Irish immigrant. Little is known about his childhood; he mentioned in one of his Boston Globe columns that he attended school in a one-room rural schoolhouse. While some sources say Murnane attended Holy Cross prep school in Worcester, Massachusetts, this is doubtful; searches in the school\'s archives show there was another man with the same name who attended, but he was from Fitchburg MA, and Murnane was playing baseball in Connecticut during the years he was said to be at Holy Cross. During Murnane\'s early years in baseball, he played as a catcher for the Stratford, Connecticut club in 1869; some old-timers of that era said this club was called the Savannah Seniors. Murnane remained at catcher for two seasons with the Savannah Seniors, but moved to center field while with the Middletown Mansfields club of Middletown, Connecticut, halfway through the 1871 season. The Mansfields entered the professional National Association for 1872, which begins Murnane\'s major league career in records that count the NA as a major league. He was the Mansfields\' regular first basemen; that would be his most common fielding position but he played only a few full seasons "every day".\n', '

Following the 1872 Mansfields, Murnane played in the majors for the Philadelphia Athletics (1873–74), Philadelphia White Stockings (1875), Boston Red Caps (1876–77), Providence Grays (1878)—as the first player signed by a new club—and finally the Boston Reds (1884), whom he also managed.\n', '

During eight seasons in the major leagues Murnane batted .261 with five home runs and 127 runs batted in. Highlights of his playing days would include finishing fifth in the National Association batting race with an average of .359 in 1872, and leading the NA with 30 stolen bases in 1875.\n', '

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