Murphy
John Murphy Jr., who was a tight end for Tennessee from 1975-77m died Tuesday in Nashville from complications of a gastric hemorrhage. He was 51.
Mr. Murphy was an orthopedic surgeon in Florence, Ala.
He graduated from Jackson Central-Merry High School in 1974 and was an all-state football player for the Cougars. Mr. Murphy was inducted into the Jackson-Madison County Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.
"He was very talented and quick for a big man," Neill Ross, chairman of the hall of fame and a teammate of Murphy's at JCM, told The jackson Sun. "He was very athletic, and that's why UT wanted him."
Mr. Murphy played for coach Bill Battle at UT his first three years and for coach Johnny Majors his senior season.
Mr. Murphy graduated from UT with honors in 1978 and earned his medical degree from the University of Tennessee Center for Health Sciences in 1984. He won the Hermann Hickman Scholarship from UT for athletes in post-graduate training and received his board certification in 1992 with the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
"I met John when I came to Knoxville to be recruited, and I became fast friends with him my freshman year," said Knoxville attorney and former UT teammate Brent Watson. "I told John's wife this story recently. When we were playing against Tulsa, I'd gotten knocked down by a player on the other team and he'd fallen down also. So John was standing over the guy and shaking his finger and giving him a hard time. The other player was about 6 feet, 9 inches tall, and when he stood up, John said, 'Well, excuse me.' And John walked off. John was a good football player, very tough. Unfortunately, he hurt his knee in his senior year."
Mr. Murphy was married to Teresa Shannon, formerly of Cullman, Ala. They have three children.
Visitation will be Thursday evening at Greenview Memorial Funeral Home in Florence. Services will be at 11 a.m. on Friday at First United Methodist Church in Florence.
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Comments » 4
DooleyNoted writes:
If he was an orthopedic surgeon he would be Dr. Murphy.
invisiblekid writes:
My condolences to the Murphy family.
volcam writes:
I attended medical school at UT Memphis with John Murphy. He was a great classmate, one who could always maintain good humor despite many difficult classes and clinical rotations. He was very proud of having been a Vol football player. He was a big guy with a big heart. He made everyone around him feel comfortable and welcome. He was a credit to his profession, and he will be sorely missed by those of us who knew him. I wish God's blessings on his loved ones.
hmckaskle#206399 writes:
I was two years behind Dr. Murphy at UT. Unfortunately, I had forgotten about him until a few years ago. During a business visit to meet with Teresa at their office in Florence, something brought out my UT background. She quickly took me to his office to see all the UT memorabilia on his walls. Before I knew it, John entered and we had the best UT football chat I have had in years. He was a true gentleman in every since of the word. I am thankful to have met him. The city of Florence will miss him for his medical skills and the UT family has lost a fine man.
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