A Giant In His Own Right

While watching his favorite New York team demolish the highly favored Minnesota Vikings at the Meadowlands two weeks ago was a special moment for Murphy, the former Jet and Giant linebacker says his days playing under legendary coach Joe Paterno at Penn State proved to be some of the most glorious moments of his life. An NCAA All American with the Nittany Lions, Murphy led Paternos squad to a 12-0 record and a co-national championship title in 1975. One of the highest achievements he ever reached, aside from being drafted into the NFL, the Penn States perfect record and championship title led to another of his most memorable moments in football: That same year Penn State quarterback John Cappelletti accepted the Heisman Trophy for being the best player in college football. At the ceremony, the future Los Angeles Rams hurler gave his trophy to his younger brother Joey, who suffered and eventually died from his bout with Leukemia (this is the story which led to the celebrated book and motion picture "Something For Joey").
"I remember watching John hand that trophy to his brother and thinking this had to have been one of the greatest moments in sports history," Murphy told The Queens Courier. "I think it was the first and only time I have ever seen Joe Paterno cry."
Murphys story begins in 1968, the first year he attended Samuel J. Tilden High School, located on the Queens and Brooklyn border. While Murphy honed his skills as a football star at Tilden, he worked part time with his father doing construction work at Slattery Skanska Inc., a company he still works with to this day. Using his fathers determination as a mentor for his own drive, Murphy put equal emphasis on his job as he did on the football field. A high school All American before his senior year at Tilden, Murphy was touted by college recruits as the most wanted player in the nation. Receiving offers from almost 20 colleges and universities across the country, the linebacker paid visits to the University of Southern California, Michigan and Notre Dame. After seeing the coaching expertise of Paterno in action, Murphy signed his letter of intent to attend Penn State and play for the Nittany-Lions football powerhouse. An All American at Penn State, Murphy was eventually drafted into the NFL by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He later left to play for the New England Patriots for two years, the Jets at Shea for another two and then played for the Giants in 1979. During his football tenure in New York, Murphy still worked for Slattery in order to make ends meet.
"One of the biggest differences between football of yesterday and football of today is money," said Murphy. "I only made around $40,000 a year while playing football in the 1970s, while players of today are making millions. Only Joe Namath had the star power to make that kind of moneyhe made up to $400,000 a season."
Murphy has joined the ranks among the giants of footballliterally. A good friend of New York Giant strength coach John "Mother" Dunn, he attended most of the games this season and witnessed Big Blues comeback which has shook the tri-state area into a Super Bowl frenzy.
To Murphy, Super Bowl XXXV is another opportunity for him to live through a special moment in sports history. He has stood behind the Giants since he played for the team in 1979 and would love for them to begin a new legacy in New York football. But for a man who worked hard in both sports and life, Murphy need not live through the success of the Giants anymore, because with his professional football career and success working with the Airtrain, he has developed a legacy of his own.
Murphy will appear as a guest on The Queens Couriers weekly television show Friday night on QPTV, channel 34.