Frederick James Murphy (February 4, 1886 – December 19, 1956) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

, and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player and coach and college athletics administrator. Murphy served as the head football coach at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

(1914–1918),

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univ ...

(1920–1922), and

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...

(1924–1926), compiling a career football coaching record of 40–37–4. He was also the head basketball coach at Manhattan College (1912–1913) and at Northwestern (1914–1917), and the head baseball coach at Northwestern (1914–1916) and Kentucky (1925–1926). In addition, Murphy served as Northwestern's

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches an ...

from 1913 to 1918.

Playing career and family

Murphy played football, basketball, and baseball at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

. He was a halfback in football, a

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 ...

in basketball, and a center fielder in baseball. Murphy was a nephew of

Mike Murphy Michael James Murphy (born 20 October 1941) is an Irish broadcaster, actor and property developer. He is best known for his long broadcasting career with RTÉ, presenting many TV shows such as ''The Live Mike'', '' Winning Streak'' and '' The Bi ...

and

Yale Murphy William Henry "Yale" Murphy (October 11, 1869 – February 14, 1906) was an American baseball player and coach of American football and baseball. He played as a shortstop in Major League Baseball for the New York Giants. Murphy served as the hea ...

Coaching career

Northwestern

Murphy was the 12th head coach at

and he held that position for five seasons, from 1914 until 1918. His coaching record at Northwestern was 16–16–1. This ranks him 11th at Northwestern in total wins and tenth at Northwestern in winning percentage.

University of Denver

Murphy returned to coaching in the 1920 season to coach at the

, a coaching position he held for three seasons until 1922. At Denver, he compiled a record of 12–7–2. His best season at Denver was 1922, when the team's record was 6–1–1, second only to his 6–1 season at Northwestern in 1916.

Kentucky

Murphy's next move was to become the head coach at the

from 1924 to 1926. There he compiled a record of 12–14–1.

Head coaching record

Football

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Fred J. 1886 births 1956 deaths American football halfbacks American men's basketball players Baseball outfielders Basketball coaches from Massachusetts Basketball players from Massachusetts Guards (basketball) Denver Pioneers football coaches Kentucky Wildcats baseball coaches Kentucky Wildcats football coaches Manhattan Jaspers men's basketball coaches Northwestern Wildcats athletic directors Northwestern Wildcats baseball coaches Northwestern Wildcats football coaches Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball coaches People from Southborough, Massachusetts Phillips Academy alumni Sportspeople from Worcester County, Massachusetts Yale Bulldogs baseball players Yale Bulldogs football coaches Yale Bulldogs football players Yale Bulldogs men's basketball players