Jack Murphy (February 5, 1923 – September 24, 1980) was a sports editor and columnist for the ''San Diego Union'' newspaper from 1951–1980.

Jack Murphy Stadium San Diego Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium on the west coast of the United States, in San Diego, California. The stadium opened in 1967 as San Diego Stadium and was known as Jack Murphy Stadium from 1981 to 1997. From 1997 to 2017, the stadi ...

was named in his honor. He was affectionately referred to by fans simply as "The Murph" and "El Murph" by Spanish speakers.

Early life

Murphy was born on February 5, 1923 in Denver, Colorado. He was the older brother of

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

broadcaster

Bob Murphy Robert, Rob, Bob or Bobby Murphy may refer to: Sports Ice hockey *Robert Ronald Murphy or Ron Murphy (1933–2014), Canadian ice hockey player * Bob Murphy (ice hockey) (born 1951), Canadian retired professional ice hockey player * Rob Murphy (ice ...

Career

Murphy moved from

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...

in 1951 to become a sportswriter for the ''San Diego Union'' newspaper. On December 21, 1960, Murphy wrote a column for the ''San Diego Union'' proposing the

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Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

American Football League team become a San Diego franchise. Over the next year, through his ''Union'' articles, he would become a key figure in persuading San Diegans to relocate the Chargers. He also helped secure the

Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL pennan ...

baseball team as a

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

expansion team in 1969.

Jack Murphy Stadium

After the Chargers began to outgrow

Balboa Stadium Balboa Stadium is an American football and soccer stadium on the west coast of the United States, located in San Diego, California. Just east of San Diego High School, the original stadium was built in 1914 as part of the 1915 Panama–Californ ...

, Murphy assisted in lobbying for a new San Diego stadium in his sports articles for the ''San Diego Union''. A 50,000-seat stadium was proposed to and approved by San Diego voters in 1965. The eventual 54,000-seat

San Diego Stadium San Diego Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium on the west coast of the United States, in San Diego, California. The stadium opened in 1967 as San Diego Stadium and was known as Jack Murphy Stadium from 1981 to 1997. From 1997 to 2017, the stadi ...

was renamed San Diego–Jack Murphy Stadium after Murphy died in 1980. It was also known by its shortened name "The Murph". The stadium was renamed Qualcomm Stadium in 1997 and Qualcomm retained the naming rights until 2017. The stadium was renamed SDCCU Stadium in 2018 after San Diego County Credit Union purchased the naming rights. In order to continue to honor Murphy, the city named the stadium site Jack Murphy Field.

Personal life

Murphy owned a black Labrador Retriever named Abe that he would write about in his articles. A statue of Murphy with Abe is located in front of Qualcomm Stadium. Murphy was a third cousin of billionaire investor

Warren Buffett Warren Edward Buffett ( ; born August 30, 1930) is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is currently the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is one of the most successful investors in the world and has a net ...

. Murphy died on September 24, 1980 of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...

Awards

On May 3, 1988, Murphy was inducted into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Jack 1923 births 1980 deaths Sportswriters from California Writers from San Diego San Diego Padres San Diego Chargers American male journalists 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American male writers Deaths from lung cancer