Murdock was a student at Wooster College in September 1939, completed his bachelor's degree by December 1942, and then joined the Army.
Working with Allan Nevins at Columbia, Murdock learned to appreciate the significance of oral history research.
[5] The interviews range from 30 minutes to multiple hours, and the audio is now available on Cleveland Public Library's Digital Gallery.
The interviews are also featured in Murdock's book Baseball Players and Their Times, Oral Histories of the Game: 1920-40.
Initially offered to Marietta College but declined, the collection was "promptly and eagerly" accepted by Cleveland Public Library in 1992.
In addition to the oral histories, the overall collection also includes "major league biographies, annuals, and scrapbooks, covering the years 1910-1976.