Cal Murphy was a Canadian football coach, general manager and scout, most notably for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League.
18 Facts About Cal Murphy
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Cal Murphy attended Vancouver College, a K-12 independent Catholic school for boys served by the Congregation of Christian Brothers in British Columbia, where he was a football standout.
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Cal Murphy then starred with the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds as a left-handed quarterback and defensive back, and played a brief stint with the British Columbia Lions of the CFL in 1956.
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Cal Murphy led the Fighting Irish to their only undefeated season.
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Cal Murphy pursued his master's degree while an assistant coach at Eastern Washington University under head coach Dave Holmes.
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Cal Murphy followed Holmes to the University of Hawaii Rainbows, and became part of the most successful coaching tenure in Hawaii history.
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Cal Murphy joined the CFL coaching ranks in 1974 with the BC Lions under head coach Eagle Keys, and became head coach after game six in the 1975 season.
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Cal Murphy was fired after the 1976 season, and moved on to spend the 1977 Grey Cup championship season in Montreal with the Alouettes under head coach Marv Levy.
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In 1983, Cal Murphy was hired by Paul Robson of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and spent 14 years as head coach and general manager.
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Cal Murphy developed a reputation for finding top talent, and developed one of the most feared defenses in CFL history with the likes of Tyrone Jones, James "Wild" West, and Aaron Brown.
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Cal Murphy was awarded the Annis Stukus Trophy for Coach of the Year in 1983 and 1984.
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Cal Murphy earned a reputation for his often cantankerous personality.
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Cal Murphy was an outspoken opponent of CFL expansion to the United States, believing it put a risk to the uniqueness of the Canadian game, and challenged the goodwill relationship long-maintained with the NFL.
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Cal Murphy finished up his CFL career in Regina with the Saskatchewan Roughriders from 1997 to 1999.
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Cal Murphy was elected into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2004, and was a scout for the Super Bowl Champion Indianapolis Colts at the time of his death.
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Cal Murphy's eldest son, Mike, is a scout with the NFL's New York Giants, and son-in-law, Sammy Garza, is a scout with the NFL's Dallas Cowboys.
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Cal Murphy had seven children: Carol, Mike, Barbara, Erin, Shannon, Brian and Kelly.
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Cal Murphy died in Regina, Saskatchewan on February 18,2012, aged 79.