The owner of a legendary bar near Wrigley Field has died. Beth Murphy, owner of the Murphy Bleaches on the corner of Sheffield and Poughland Avenues, died Monday, WGN News confirmed. A spokeswoman for the agency said she had battled cancer on and off for the past five years.
She also runs Murphy’s Rooftop Company with Mrs. Murphy & Sons Irish Bistro. Located at 3905 North Lincoln Blvd. “We will miss you, Beth,” read a sign outside the bar on Monday morning. The Cubs also honored Murphy in the marquee at Wrigley Field on Monday afternoon.
The bar has been owned by the Murphy family since 1980, when Beth’s husband, former Chicago police officer Jim Murphy, bought what was then known as Ray’s Bleachers at 3655 North Sheffield Avenue.
He owned the pub until his death in 2003, when Beth took over. Despite many changes in Wrigleyville over the years, the Murphy Stand has been a familiar place for Cubs fans over the years.
She is a prominent member of the Lakeview community and influential in the Wrigley Field area. Many remember her as the passionate leader of the Wrigleyville Rooftops Owners Association, which competed with the Cubs for ownership when the team began their “Project 1060” to renovate Wrigley Field in the mid to late 2010s.
One of the biggest arguments was that the video panels, which were finally installed in 2015, blocked some views of the roof.