Alex Murphy (rugby league)

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For other people named Alex Murphy, see Alex Murphy (disambiguation).
Alex Murphy
Personal information
Full nameAlexander James Murphy
Born (1939-04-22) 22 April 1939 (age 84)
St Helens
Playing information
PositionHalfback, Stand-off, Scrum-half
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1956–65 St Helens 320 175 42 0 609
1966–71
Leigh
 113+5 33 96 291
1971–75 Warrington 66+1 9 12 28 107
Total 505 217 150 28 1007
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1958–71 Great Britain 27 16 0 0 48
1969 England 2 1 1 0 5
1958–70 Lancashire 14 12 2 0 40
1958
GB tour 1958
 16 18 3 0 60
1962
GB tour 1962
 8 7 0 0 21
Coaching information
Club
Years Team Gms W D L W%
1966–71
Leigh
 205 130 13 62 63
1971–78 Warrington 308 176 14 118 57
1978–80 Salford 93 44 5 44 47
1980–82
Leigh
 63 44 3 16 70
1982–84 Wigan 82 49 4 29 60
1985
Leigh
 22 12 2 8 55
1985–90 St Helens 167 107 5 55 64
1990–91
Leigh
 39 22 1 16 56
1991–94 Huddersfield 96 61 0 35 64
2003
Leigh Centurions
 0 0 0 0
Total 1075 645 47 383 60
Representative
Years Team Gms W D L W%
1975 England 11 7 2 2 64
1973–78 Lancashire 12 9 0 3 75
1985–88 Lancashire 3 0 0 3 0

Alexander James Murphy

Leigh and Warrington.[1] Murphy assumed a player-coach role of the last two clubs and expanded his coaching role toward the end of his playing career to include clubs such as Wigan, Salford and Huddersfield. He later returned to both Warrington and Leigh respectively as a football manager.[9] He was the first player to captain three different clubs to victory in the Challenge Cup Final .[10]

Background

Born in St. Helens, Lancashire on 22 April 1939,[8] Murphy was brought up in Thatto Heath, and at ten years of age had played in both the junior and senior XIIIs at St Austin's School.

Playing career

Murphy had received town and county schoolboy honours by the time he signed with his native St. Helens for £80 on his 16th birthday in 1955.

Jim Sullivan. During his national service Murphy played rugby union for the Royal Air Force,[13]
frequently playing for an Air Force team the same week as playing rugby league for St. Helens.

St. Helens

Murphy began his career at St. Helens playing reserve team rugby (known then as the 'A' team). After several "A" team games, Murphy demanded a place in the first team. This demand was refused and so he promptly demanded a transfer. The dispute was settled and Murphy's first team début was against Whitehaven at Knowsley Road.

Murphy's career at St. Helens went on to be long and successful. While still a teenager, he was selected to tour Australasia with the Great Britain side in 1958, becoming the youngest touring player at the time,[14] and helping Great Britain to victory in the famous second Test in which they were down to ten men. He scored 21 tries in 20 appearances on that tour.[15]

He won the

World Cup-winning side. With his club he claimed the Challenge Cup in 1961.[16]

On the 1962 Ashes tour he suffered a shoulder injury which caused him to miss three months of the domestic season[8] and there was some speculation he would never play again.[17] On this tour he scored 9 tries in 11 appearances.

Murphy became the first British rugby league footballer to have two testimonial matches. They were at St. Helens in 1965, and at Warrington in 1976.

Alex Murphy played right-

Championship Final during the 1965–66 season at Station Road, Swinton
on Saturday 28 May 1966, in front of a crowd of 30,165.

Alex Murphy played

1966 Challenge Cup Final during the 1965–66 season at Wembley Stadium, London
on Saturday 21 May 1966, in front of a crowd of 98,536.

Alex Murphy played

1962 Lancashire County Cup Final during the 1964–65 season at Central Park, Wigan
on Saturday 24 October 1964.

Alex Murphy played

1965 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final during the 1965–66 season at Knowsley Road, St. Helens
on Tuesday 14 December 1965

Leigh

Murphy left St. Helens to become player-coach at Leigh[when?] because he was unhappy at being moved to the centres to accommodate the signing of Tommy Bishop. As the 1966–67 season began, Murphy declined to play for St. Helens. The Australian club, North Sydney indicated their interest in signing him. At the end of September, Murphy submitted a written transfer request to the St. Helens board who accepted it, putting him on the list at £12,000.

North Sydney tabled a bid of £8,000 for Murphy which was accepted. However, at the last minute, Murphy agreed to a 5-year deal with Leigh to become the highest paid coach in the Rugby Football League.

Murphy's first game in charge of his new team was against his former club in a league match at Hilton Park. Murphy's Leigh overcame a depleted St. Helens side by 29–5. Murphy later recounted in an issue of the Rugby Leaguer some 20 years later that:

"It never entered my mind to leave Saints in the first place. But events took over and there was a lot of pride involved on both sides and the situation reached the stage where a parting of the ways became inevitable."

Alex Murphy played

1971 Challenge Cup Final during the 1970–71 season at Wembley Stadium, London on Saturday 15 May 1971, in front of a crowd of 85,514. This was a match where Murphy's ability to attract controversy was once again exemplified. He was involved in an altercation with Leeds' Syd Hynes which resulted in Hynes being sent off for headbutting Murphy. Murphy was carried off the pitch on a stretcher, but later returned to the bench and was able to lift the trophy at the end of the game. Over the years, tales of Murphy winking to his teammates as he was carried from the field have endured, and Hynes always maintained his innocence.[10]

Alex Murphy played

1970 Lancashire County Cup Final replay during the 1970–71 season at Station Road, Swinton
on Saturday 28 November 1970.

Alex Murphy played

1969 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final during the 1969–70 season at Central Park, Wigan
on Tuesday 16 December 1969.

Warrington

Murphy left Leigh shortly afterwards to become

1975 Challenge Cup Final during the 1974–75 season at Wembley Stadium, London
on Saturday 10 May 1975, in front of a crowd of 85,998, but missed playing in the match through injury, retiring as a player shortly after but remaining as coach of the club until 1978. During his time as the Warrington coach, his old rivals, Widnes succeeded in reaching another Challenge Cup final in 1976, their opponents being St. Helens. Murphy caused controversy by declaring that he would jump off the Silver Jubilee Bridge and into the River Mersey if Widnes won; luckily, Widnes were defeated 20 points to 5 and Murphy managed to keep his feet on dry land.

Alex Murphy was the

1974 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final replay during the 1974–75 season at Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington
on Tuesday 28 January 1975.

Alex Murphy was the coach in Warrington's 4–0 victory over Featherstone Rovers in the 1973–74 Captain Morgan Trophy Final during the 1973–74 season at The Willows, Salford on Saturday 26 January 1974, in front of a crowd of 5,259.

Coaching career

Upon retirement, Murphy built upon the experience he had acquired as a player-coach by taking up the reins as a full-time coach. He was co-coach of England with Bill Oxley during the 1975 World Series.

After Warrington, Murphy was appointed to high-profile roles at Salford (May 1978 to November 1980), Leigh (1980 to 1982) where in 1982 he guided Leigh to the Division 1 championship and Lancashire cup winners, before taking the role of coach of Wigan in 1982. There, he led them to victory in the John Player Trophy in 1983, and took them to the Challenge Cup Final in 1984, where they lost to Widnes. He left at the start of the next season, following a row with vice chairman Maurice Lindsay.

In 1988 Murphy was an inaugural inductee into the

Rugby League Hall of Fame.[19]

He took over as coach of St. Helens in 1986, taking them to

1994 Kangaroo tour.[20]

In 1991, he joined Huddersfield: within a year, promotion to the Second Division had been achieved.

After a six-year absence from rugby league, Murphy returned to the game in 2003 as football director of Leigh after the National League One club sacked coach Paul Terzis.[21]

Post-retirement

In 1998 Murphy was awarded the OBE for services to the game of rugby league. In 2000 his autobiography, Saint and Sinner was published.

1994 Kangaroo tour
. He was also employed to write opinion columns for newspapers such as the Daily Mirror, and the Manchester Evening News. One was known as 'Murphy's Mouth.' In 2006 he became Chairman of Oxford Cavaliers rugby league club. Murphy is an inductee in both the St Helens RFC Hall of Fame,[23] and the Warrington Wolves RLFC Hall of Fame.[24]

References

  1. ^ a b "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  2. ^ "England Statistics at englandrl.co.uk". englandrl.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  3. ^ "Great Britain Statistics at englandrl.co.uk". englandrl.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  4. ^ Rothmans RL Yearbok
  5. ^ RL Record Keeper's Club
  6. ^ "RL legend Murphy must rest up after heart scare". The Huddersfield Daily Examiner. UK: Trinity Mirror North West & North Wales Limited. 5 August 2005. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  7. ^ Ray French (5 September 2003). "'The Mouth' returns". BBC Sport. UK: BBC. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
  8. ^ a b c "Saints Heritage Society". saints.org.uk. Retrieved 3 March 2010.
  9. ^ "Coach Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  10. ^ a b "Cup heroes: Alex Murphy". BBC Sport. UK: BBC. 27 February 2004. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
  11. ^ Barker, Neil (22 September 2010). "Murphy joins thousands for Saints farewell". Manchester Evening News. UK: MEN Media. Archived from the original on 26 September 2010. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
  12. ^ Beaton, Lyle (17 April 2007). "Let's not forget the Great Alex Murphy". leagueunlimited.com. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  13. ^ Shea, Julian (22 April 2005). "Murphy clocks up half century". BBC Sport. UK: BBC. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
  14. ^ "Rugby league's greatest ever players". orange.co.uk. Orange. p. UK. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
  15. Yorkshire Post
    . UK: Johnston Press Digital Publishing. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
  16. ^ "Murphy pays tribute to Karalius". BBC Sport. UK: BBC. 18 December 2008. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
  17. ^ "Career in jeopardy". The Sydney Morning Herald. 7 October 1962. Retrieved 2 March 2010.
  18. ^ Skentelbery, Gary (23 February 2010). "Murphy signs for Wolves!". Warrington Worldwide. UK: Warrington News. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
  19. ^ "Alex Murphy OBE". therfl.co.uk. UK: The Rugby Football League Limited. Archived from the original on 11 November 2010. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
  20. ^ "1989 Challenge Cup Final highlights". 31 December 2017. Archived from the original on 14 December 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2018 – via YouTube.
  21. ^ "Murphy returns to Leigh". BBC Sport. UK: BBC. 4 September 2003. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  22. ISBN 9781840183092
    . 1840183098, 9781840183092.
  23. ^ "St Helens Hall of Fame". saints.org.uk. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  24. ^ "Hall of Fame at Wire2Wolves.com (archived)". wire2wolves.com. 31 December 2017. Archived from the original on 10 April 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2018.

External links

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