Joseph Leo Murphy (January 25, 1907 – October 4, 1973) was an American politician who served in the

Massachusetts General Court The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled the General Court of Massachusetts) is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the earliest days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, ...

Early life

Murphy was born on January 25, 1907, in

South Boston South Boston is a densely populated neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, located south and east of the Fort Point Channel and abutting Dorchester Bay. South Boston, colloquially known as Southie, has undergone several demographic transformati ...

. He graduated from Dorchester High School and

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

. Outside of politics, Murphy worked as an automobile salesman.

Politics

Murphy's political career began in 1934 when he was elected to the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

. In 1938 he was elected to the

Massachusetts Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the ...

. He was reelected in 1940 while serving overseas in the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

. In 1941, Murphy filed legislation to place professional wrestling under the jurisdiction of the state boxing commission. He contended that wrestling was "a racket" and that even he could beat World Heavyweight Champion

The French Angel Maurice Tillet (23 October 1903 – 4 September 1954) was a Russian-born French professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, The French Angel. Tillet was a leading box office draw in the early 1940s and was twice World Heavyweight Cham ...

Paul Bowser Paul Forbes Bowser (May 28, 1886 – July 17, 1960) was a professional wrestling promoter who was active from the 1920s to the 1950s in the Boston area.Tim Hornbaker,Paul Bowser Biography" 2006 Wrestler Bowser grew up on a farm in western Pennsy ...

challenged Murphy to fight "The Angel" and Murphy accepted. One of Murphy's senate colleagues, Chester A. Dolan, signed papers to be his manager. The match, however, never took place. In 1945, Murphy was elected Democratic floor leader. He was defeated by William Joseph Keenan in the 1948 Democratic primary. In 1952, Murphy ran for

Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts The lieutenant governor of Massachusetts is the first in the line to discharge the powers and duties of the office of governor following the incapacitation of the Governor of Massachusetts. The constitutional honorific title for the office is His ...

. He finished third in the six-candidate Democratic primary with 13% of the vote. In 1954 he for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

seat held by

Leverett Saltonstall Leverett A. Saltonstall (September 1, 1892June 17, 1979) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts. He served three two-year terms as the List of Governors of Massachusetts, 55th Governor of Massachusetts, and for more than twent ...

. He lost the Democratic nomination to

State Treasurer In the state governments of the United States, 48 of the 50 states have the executive position of treasurer. New York abolished the position in 1926; duties were transferred to New York State Comptroller. Texas abolished the position of Texas ...

Foster Furcolo John Foster Furcolo (July 29, 1911 – July 5, 1995) was an American lawyer, writer, and Democratic Party politician from Massachusetts. He was the state's 60th governor, and also represented the state as a member of the United States House of ...

. In 1964, Murphy was a candidate for

Governor of Massachusetts The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the chief executive officer of the government of Massachusetts. The governor is the head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonwealth's military forces. Massachusetts ...

, but his name was ruled off the ballot due to a dispute over signatures on his nomination papers.

Later life

Murphy was a founder of

Berkshire Downs The Berkshire Downs are a range of chalk downland hills in South east England split between the counties of Berkshire and Oxfordshire. They are part of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The western parts of the downs ...

Hanover, Massachusetts Hanover is a historic town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 14,833 at the 2020 census. History The area of Hanover was first inhabited by the local Wampanoag and Massachusett people before Europeans had sett ...

. In 1962 he initiated a lawsuit that resulted in a complex legal battle over the track's ownership. He later went to work as an administrative assistant for the Metropolitan District Commission. Murphy died on October 4, 1973, at Cambridge Hospital.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Joseph L. 1907 births 1973 deaths 20th-century American legislators United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Boston University alumni Democratic Party Massachusetts state senators Democratic Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Politicians from Boston People from South Boston 20th-century Massachusetts politicians

Early life

Politics

Later life

See also

References