Sportscaster in Buffalo, New York from the 1980s to the 2000s
John Murphy
|
---|
Born
| (
1955-03-14
)
March 14, 1955
(age 69)
|
---|
John Murphy
(born March 14, 1955) is an American former sportscaster from
Buffalo, New York
. He is best known as the former voice of the
Buffalo Bills Radio Network
and host of
One Bills Live
(formerly
The John Murphy Show
) on
WGR
and
MSG Western New York
. In addition to the Bills, he also served as commentator for the
Buffalo Bisons
,
Canisius College
Golden Griffins,
Buffalo Bulls
and
Niagara University
Purple Eagles in the 1980s.
Early life and education
[
edit
]
Murphy grew up in
Lockport, New York
. His father,
Matthew Murphy
, was a member of the
New York State Assembly
; his brother Paul Murphy served as general manager of the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center until his death in December 2020.
[1]
Murphy received a degree in broadcasting from the
S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications
at
Syracuse University
in 1978.
[2]
Broadcast career
[
edit
]
Murphy spent some of his early career at
WLVL
in his hometown of Lockport, calling high school sports contests. His broadcast partner at WLVL, Frank Williams, would go on to a long career as a play-by-play announcer himself, spending over 30 years at
WESB
in
Bradford, Pennsylvania
, though Williams never advanced beyond high school sports.
[3]
In November 1984,
Stan Barron
, the longtime sports director at
WBEN
, died from thyroid cancer, shortly after calling the Bills' last preseason game of the year. Barron's short-notice death led to Murphy's immediate hiring; Murphy initially served in all of the same capacities that Barron did.
[4]
Murphy served as sports director at WBEN from 1984 to 1992 and hosted a talk show on the station until 1995. In 1989, Murphy succeeded
Rick Azar
as
WKBW-TV
's 6 PM sports anchor, joining
Irv Weinstein
and
Tom Jolls
in Western New York's most popular (at the time) newscast. Murphy was named sports director in 1992, one year after the departure of sports director
Bob Koshinski
. He held the position for eighteen years, until September 2007, when Murphy balked at taking a twenty-percent pay cut, as other employees had done because of
Granite Broadcasting
's financial problems.
Murphy remained off television until his non-compete contract clause expired, after which he joined
WIVB-TV
, WKBW's crosstown rival, in March 2008, to become that station's sports director. He replaced longtime sports director Dennis Williams in the position. Murphy left WIVB in June 2012 to focus full-time on his Bills duties.
[5]
During his time at WKBW, he made a cameo in the film
Bruce Almighty
, the only WKBW anchor to do so.
Buffalo Bills
[
edit
]
Murphy formerly served as the play-by-play voice of the
Buffalo Bills
radio network
, a position he held since the retirement of
Van Miller
following the 2003 season. Murphy is best known for his association with the
Buffalo Bills
. From 1984 to 1989, and again from 1994 to 2003, Murphy served as the Bills'
color analyst
, alongside Miller. From 2012-2020,
[6]
he hosted
The John Murphy Show
, (later re-named
One Bills Live
), a Bills-themed talk show on
WGR
in Buffalo.
[7]
[8]
On May 9, 2024, Murphy announced his retirement from broadcasting after missing the
2023 season
due to a
stroke
.
[9]
Awards and Honors
[
edit
]
In May 2019, Murphy was announced as an inductee into the Buffalo Broadcasters Association's Hall of Fame.
[10]
In July 2022, he received the Dick Gallagher Legacy Award from the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame.
[11]
Other Work
[
edit
]
In September 2023, Murphy released his first book,
If These Walls Could Talk: Buffalo Bills: Stories from the Buffalo Bills Sideline, Locker Room, and Press Box
.
Filmography
[
edit
]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Murphy resides in
Orchard Park
and is married to former Orchard Park town supervisor (and former WKBW consumer affairs reporter)
Mary Travers
. Travers and Murphy were the first married couple to work at the same television station in Buffalo at the same time.
[12]
The couple have two children.
[13]
Murphy suffered a stroke between December 31, 2022 and January 1, 2023.
Chris Brown
, a Bills beat reporter and former play-by-play announcer of the
Buffalo Destroyers
, has filled in for Murphy since the stroke.
[14]
[15]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"POLONCARZ, KALER STATEMENTS ON THE PASSING OF PAUL MURPHY | Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz"
.
- ^
John Boccacino and Chris Velardi (January 8, 2021).
"John Murphy '78: Radio Voice of the Buffalo Bills"
.
Cuse Conversations
(Podcast). Syracuse University Office of Alumni Engagement. Event occurs at 29:36
. Retrieved
December 21,
2021
.
- ^
Era, CHUCK POLLOCK Special to The.
"WESB's Arlington doing his final football broadcast"
.
The Bradford Era
. Retrieved
2022-02-20
.
- ^
Pergament, Alan.
"Media Watch: Murphy gets the Bills "job of a lifetime"
"
.
buffalospree.com
. Retrieved
2022-02-20
.
- ^
Pergament, Alan (March 30, 2012).
Sources: Murphy to Bills June 1
Archived
2012-04-02 at the
Wayback Machine
. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
- ^
Warren, Matt (22 May 2020).
"John Murphy out as host of Buffalo Bills' daily radio show, but he'll remain as play-by-play man 86"
.
buffalorumblings.com
. Vox Media, LLC
. Retrieved
23 May
2020
.
- ^
"John Murphy to host nightly show on WGR? - Buffalo Bills Forums"
. Archived from
the original
on 2012-05-02
. Retrieved
2012-05-15
.
- ^
"The John Murphy Show debuts July 26"
. Archived from
the original
on 2015-06-18
. Retrieved
2012-06-18
.
- ^
Bourtis, Evan (2024-05-09).
"John Murphy, voice of Buffalo Bills on the radio, steps away after 35 years"
.
WHEC.com
. Retrieved
2024-05-09
.
- ^
"John Murphy headlines Buffalo Broadcasters Hall of Fame class"
. May 29, 2019.
- ^
Bronstein, Jonah.
"Lockport native John Murphy's legacy honored by Buffalo Sports HOF"
.
niagara-gazette.com
. Niagara Gazette
. Retrieved
16 December
2023
.
- ^
"Fox analyst Davis gets to assess Allen's footwork improvement on Sunday"
.
- ^
Pergament, Alan.
"MEDIA WATCH: MURPHY GETS THE BILLS "JOB OF A LIFETIME"
"
.
buffalospree.com
. Buffalo Spree Publishing
. Retrieved
16 December
2023
.
- ^
Smith, Michael David (January 6, 2023).
Longtime Bills radio announcer John Murphy off the air after suffering a stroke
.
Profootballtalk.com
. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
- ^
"Bills Broadcaster John Murphy Is Recovering from Stroke That Occurred Before Damar Hamlin Injury"
.
People
. Retrieved
2023-01-16
.
- ^
*Information from his WKBW-TV profile, which is no longer on the Web.
External links
[
edit
]
Preceded by
|
WBEN (AM)
Sports Anchor
1984–1995
|
Succeeded by
|
Preceded by
|
Buffalo Bills
color commentator
1984–1989
|
Succeeded by
|
Preceded by
|
WKBW-TV
Sports Anchor
1989–2007
|
Succeeded by
Jeff Russo
|
Preceded by
|
Buffalo Bills
color commentator
1994–2004
|
Succeeded by
|
Preceded by
|
Buffalo Bills
announcer
2004–2022
|
Succeeded by
|
Preceded by
Dennis Williams
|
WIVB-TV
Sports Anchor
2008–2012
|
Succeeded by
Steve Vesey
|
|
---|
|
Franchise
| |
---|
Stadiums
| |
---|
Culture
| |
---|
Lore
| |
---|
Rivalries
| |
---|
Division championships (14)
| |
---|
Conference championships (4)
| |
---|
League championships (2)
| |
---|
Wall of Fame
| |
---|
Media
| |
---|
Owners
| |
---|
Current league affiliations
| |
---|
Former league affiliation
| |
---|
|