Benjamin Russell Murphy (July 6, 1889 – July 30, 1957) was an American athlete, coach, and athletics administrator during the early 20th century. A graduate of the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, he coached at numerous schools in several sports including

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

. Murphy was the first basketball coach at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

. He is also one of the few college football coaches to resign during the middle of his first year of coaching at a school.

Early life

Murphy grew up in

Millville, New Jersey Millville is a city in Cumberland County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the city's population was 28,400,Millville High School before transferring to Peddie Institute. While at Peddie he excelled in multiple sports. He played left tackle on the football team for three years and was named captain of the 1908 squad coached V. R. Ford, a former star lineman from

Colgate University Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York. The college was founded in 1819 as the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York and operated under that name until 1823, when it was renamed Hamilton Theologi ...

. In this season Peddie finished 2–3 with victories over Drexel Institute and

Roman Catholic High School , motto_translation = Faith and Knowledge , accreditation = MSA , nickname = The Cahillites , conference = Philadelphia Catholic League , colors = Purple & Gold , yearbook ...

both of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

and losses to

The Hill School The Hill School (commonly known as The Hill) is a coeducational preparatory boarding school located on a campus in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, about northwest of Philadelphia. The Hill is part of the Ten Schools Admissions Organization (TSAO). ...

Blair Academy Blair Academy is a coeducational, boarding and day school for students in high school. The school serves students from ninth through twelfth grades as well as a small post-graduate class. The school's campus is located on a campus in Blairs ...

and Bordentown Cadets. He played

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

and

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

on the

team including being named captain of the 1907–08 team under coach John Plant. As a basketball player Murphy was known for his accurate passing and for his quickness for his five feet ten inches tall and 200 lbs body. In his senior season his overall play including five

field goals A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ball ...

helped Peddie beat the Roman Catholic High School, the basketball champions of Philadelphia, 33–16. As a

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

athlete he participated in the

hammer throw The hammer throw is one of the four throwing events in regular track and field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and javelin. The "hammer" used in this sport is not like any of the tools also called by that name. It consis ...

. In 1907 he finished second in the hammer throw at the Rutgers' Interscholastic meet.

College career

Murphy graduated from the

. During his freshman year at Penn, Murphy was elected captain of the freshman football team. He also excelled as a member of the freshman basketball and track team. He lettered basketball in 1911 under head coach Charles Keinath, helping Penn to a 15–8 record including 5–3 mark in the

Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League The Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League was an athletic conference for men's college basketball, beginning with the 1901–02 season and ending with the 1954–55 season. Its membership ranged from four to eight members; all of these te ...

Coaching career

Murphy served as coach, both as a head coach and assistant coach, at numerous schools including

Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...

, University of Pennsylvania, Peddie Institute, St. Charles College, and

. His coaching duties included multiple sports including football, basketball and track. At Union College he served as athletic director as well as coaching both the basketball and track teams.

Johns Hopkins

In 1916 Johns Hopkins Athletic Board picked Murphy as coach for the 1917 football team. At the time of selection he was serving as the athletic director of the Gilman Country School, and was student in the College of Physicians and Surgeons in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. In addition to his football duties, he was responsible for rebuilding of the entire athletic department at Johns Hopkins. Maryland Hopkins football

Murphy coached three years at Johns Hopkins where he finished with a 6–11–4 record. In his first year, the 1917 team finished with a 1–6–2 record, defeating only

Western Maryland College McDaniel College is a private college in Westminster, Maryland. Established in 1867, it was known as Western Maryland College until 2002 when it was renamed McDaniel College in honor of an alumnus who gave a lifetime of service to the college. ...

. The next year the team finished .500 with a 1–1–1 record. In his last year his 1919 team once again finished with a .500 record at 4–4–1. Murphy was the first basketball coach at Johns Hopkins. He coached the 1919–20 squad to a 6–7 record including victories over

Dartmouth Dartmouth may refer to: Places * Dartmouth, Devon, England ** Dartmouth Harbour * Dartmouth, Massachusetts, United States * Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada * Dartmouth, Victoria, Australia Institutions * Dartmouth College, Ivy League university i ...

and Lehigh and losses to

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

Dickinson

In March 1923, Murphy was named the 17th head football coach at

Dickinson College , mottoeng = Freedom is made safe through character and learning , established = , type = Private liberal arts college , endowment = $645.5 million (2022) , president = J ...

Carlisle, Pennsylvania Carlisle is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2020 United States census, ...

. Murphy was also named head of the Physical Training Department at Dickinson. He replaced future

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

inductee

Glenn Killinger William Glenn Killinger (September 13, 1898July 25, 1988) was an American football, basketball, and baseball player, coach, and college athletics administrator from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He graduated Harrisburg Technical High School and then ...

as head football coach. Killinger had unexpectedly resigned. The official reason for the resignation was never given, but speculation was that the college administration did not like that he was also coaching a semi-pro team. Murphy did several things before the season to help with the transition. He brought in the new players from high school and prep school to fall camp early so they could learn the system. Several football alumni were brought in to assist him in getting the team in shape. He also provided a training table at a local hotel.Gobrecht p. 151 Murphy only coached the first three games, all losses. Dickinson lost to a team from the United States Third Army,

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

, and

Muhlenberg Muhlenberg may refer to: People * Muhlenberg (surname) * The Muhlenberg family, American political, religious, and military dynasty Places * Muhlenberg County, Kentucky * Muhlenberg College, in Allentown, Pennsylvania * Muhlenberg School Distr ...

. In those three games Murphy's team gave up 42 points while only scoring 7. These games were also marked by lack of communication with his assistant coaches and player discontent. In the Navy game his players refused to use Murphy's plays, instead using former coach Killinger's offense. Due to these problems the Dickinson College athletic committee appointed

Joseph Lightner Joseph Keith Lightner (July 25, 1900 – June 6, 1988) was an American football player and coach. He served as the 18th head football coach at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania and he held that position for three seasons, from 1923 unti ...

as Field Coach which caused Murphy to resign. He was replaced by Lightner as head coach, who completed the season and went on to coach at Dickinson until the end of the 1925 season. Murphy's overall coaching record at Dickinson was 0–3Gobrecht pp. 411–412 Since the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

only recognizes games played against four-year degree-granting colleges, his official record at Dickinson is 0–2. This ranks him last at Dickinson in terms of total wins and winning percentage.

Other contributions

Murphy's contributions included writing "Athletics in the Army" and his membership in early rules committees and as a football official in the early days of the sport.Spalding's Official Foot Ball Guide
Official's List American Intercollegiate Foot Ball Rules Committee, 1915

Head coaching record

Football

''* Does not include the loss to a team US Third Army since the NCAA only recognizes games played against four-year degree-granting colleges''
''† incomplete''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, B. Russell 1889 births 1957 deaths American men's basketball players Centers (basketball) Guards (basketball) Dickinson Red Devils football coaches Johns Hopkins Blue Jays athletic directors Johns Hopkins Blue Jays football coaches Johns Hopkins Blue Jays men's basketball coaches Peddie School alumni Penn Quakers men's basketball players Union Garnet Chargers athletic directors College track and field coaches in the United States Millville Senior High School alumni People from Millville, New Jersey Sportspeople from Cumberland County, New Jersey Coaches of American football from New Jersey Basketball coaches from New Jersey Basketball players from New Jersey