NEW YORK (AP) - Ray Negron was a trouble-making high school kid when he spray-painted graffiti on a wall at Yankee Stadium in 1973 and instantaneously became part of team lore.
Yankees owner George Steinbrenner caught him in the act, and Negron was locked up, but not before Steinbrenner extended his generosity and made Negron bat boy for that night's game. He went on to become Steinbrenner's special assistant and works for the Boss to this day.On Thursday, Negron was back in the Bronx and painting up a wall, but not in a mischievous way. He helped put finishing touches on likenesses of Steinbrenner and player and broadcaster Bobby Murcer on a mural next to the stadium, adding two Yankee greats to a wall that already includes images of Mickey Mantle, Thurman Munson, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and other stars who played in pinstripes.
Negron said he felt he had come full circle by working on the mural, and he wanted to send a message to Steinbrenner and the Yankees in the historic ballpark's final week.
"This is a way of being able to say thank you," he said, moments after helping complete the Steinbrenner image. Fans heading to the stadium stopped by and snapped pictures as the mural was finished.
It shows Steinbrenner looking at the Yankee players with his arm around a little boy, representing the many children he has helped over the years.
Murcer died of brain cancer in July at 62. The only Yankee to play with both Mantle and Don Mattingly, he had a distinguished career on the field before moving to the broadcast booth.
New York plays its final game in Yankee Stadium on Sunday before the park is torn down. The team is building a new stadium across the street.
But the mural will last.
"This wall isn't going anywhere anytime soon," Negron said.
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