the spirit of the team
By the time David Murphy played his last football game almost two decades ago, he’d earned enough awards to stock a trophy case, compiled enough impressive statistics to fulfill a young boy’s dreams, and produced enough spectacular moments to fill an entire edition of Sports Center.
His junior and senior years, the 1980 Collegiate graduate quarterbacked the Cougars to a 16-2 record and a pair of Prep League titles. His final season, he completed 103 of 171 passes for 1,659 yards and 17 touchdowns, was named player of the year in Central Virginia by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and was selected (with John Owen Gwathmey) as Collegiate’s outstanding senior athlete.
He played four seasons at William & Mary and completed 293 of 481 passes for 3,087 yards and 18 touchdowns. As a starter the last seven games of his senior year (1983), he was 199-for-313 for 2,093 yards and 14 touchdowns. Against Marshall, he set a school record (since broken) by passing for 401 yards and still holds the single-game mark for completions with 35 against Rutgers.
All these accomplishments are noteworthy to be sure, but as Murphy reflects on the glory days long ago, other memories flood to the fore. “I know this sounds pat, but I’d trade everything for the relationships I had with my teammates,” said Murphy, who lives a quick down and out from Collegiate with his wife Kellie, daughter Cameron, 6, and sons Thomas, 5, and Luke, 3. “You spend so much time together on and off the field working as a team and sharing a dream with one and only one solution in mind: to win.”
Last Friday, Murphy was in the inaugural class inducted into the Collegiate Athletic Hall of Fame, a fitting reward for one so integral to the Cougar program in the late ’70’s. “It’s an honor,” he said, “and, frankly, I was quite surprised. “There’ve been so many good athletes and good teams over the years. This is very special.”
A financial consultant for 17 years, the last two with Prudential Securities, Murphy came to Collegiate from St. Bridget’s in the 9th grade and immediately established a presence as a three-season athlete. Even after he signed with the Tribe, he continued to play basketball and run track, but it was on the football field that he earned his stripes.
From day one, he was a student of the game, intelligent, passionate, well schooled in the fundamentals, sportsmanlike, a team player. And from the opening kickoff, David Murphy played to win.
“I remember one particular game when we went up to Woodberry Forest my junior year,” he says. “It was a very, very physical game which we won 14-7. “(Coach) Grover (Jones) played me a little at defensive back, and that game I happened to intercept a pass. I was running it back along our sideline when I got whacked pretty good. “Grover came over to me and said (visualize Grover’s voice), ‘Murphy, what’re ya doing? Get the heck out of bounds.’”
The aura of Grover Jones notwithstanding, Murphy had no intention of running out of bounds to avoid contact. His plan was to score.
When Murphy watches the Cougars play now, he’s more than just a casual observer. The last few summers, he’s shared his expertise with several Collegiate quarterbacks, meeting them at regular intervals to work on such fundamentals as footwork, release points, and shoulder positioning. “It was a great experience practicing with David Murphy because he knows tons about football,” said Michael Jarvis, who quarterbacked the JV to a 6-1 record this fall. “Thanks to him, my mechanics and knowledge of the game have improved tremendously.”
It’s been years since football occupied much of Murphy’s time and thought, but the sport has truly never left his life. “Football is about success and failure. It’s about relationships and adversity and teamwork,” he said. “The team aspect is so important. Being with a group of guys on the rainy, crummy, brutal days and on the nice days too, you develop strong relationships. “You learn so much in that kind of environment. I loved it.”
