Hall of Fame
Back To Hall of Fame
Back To Hall of Fame
John A. (Jack) Murphy's appointment as head football coach on Jan. 21, 1971 was immediately heralded in the local media as the most popular choice possible among the University faculty and students, alumni, and the high school coaching fraternity. Murphy inherited the difficult assignment of protecting a 23-game victory string, longest in the nation at the time. He kept the streak going with 12 more victories, extending it to 35 games. He also guided Toledo to its third straight Mid-American Conference and Tangerine Bowl titles. After that first season, Murphy's fellow coaches in Ohio honored him as Mid American Conference New Media Association members voted him MAC Coach of the Year. As the result of receiving those honors, he coached the winning East team in the first annual Ohio Shrine Bowl Game played at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio in 1972. Murphy posted a 35-32 (.522) record in six years as head coach. He also holds the distinction of being the first person in the country to go undefeated in his first season as a Div. I head coach. Murphy began his college coaching career as an assistant at Heidelberg College under Paul Hoerneman and then in 1960 moved to Toledo as an assistant coach under Clive Rush. He served as coordinator of the defense, and in five of his last six seasons Toledo ranked among the top 10 nationally in total defense. Murphy is native of Barberton, Ohio where he played high school football. He was previously inducted into the Barberton High School and Heidelberg College athletic halls of fame.
Back To Hall of Fame
