Michael Charles "Mike" Murphy was an athletic trainer and coach at Yale University (1887–1889, 1892–1896, 1901–1905), Detroit Athletic Club (1889–1892), University of Michigan (1891), Villanova University (1894), University of Pennsylvania (1896–1901, 1905–1913), and the New York Athletic Club (1890–1900). He also coached the American track athletes at the Summer Olympics in 1900, 1908, and 1912. He also spent a year in approximately 1884 as the trainer of heavyweight boxing champion John L. Sullivan.
The Washington Post in 1913 called Murphy "the father of American track athletics." He was considered the premier athletic trainer of his era and was said to have "revolutionized the methods of training athletes and reduced it to a science." He is credited with establishing many innovative techniques for track and field, including the crouching start for sprinters.
Murphy and his wife, Nora, three children. One of their children, George Murphy, became a well-known movie actor in the 1940s and 1950s and then a U.S. senator from California from 1965 to 1971. Their other son, Charles Thorne Murphy, was a football player at Yale before settling in Detroit.
In June 1913, Murphy died at his home at 4331 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia after a prolonged illness. He reportedly lapsed into unconsciousness after the 1913 Penn track team gathered at his bedside to tell him they had won the 1913 intercollegiate championship.
The funeral was held at St. James Catholic Church at 38th and Chestnut Streets in Philadelphia with many of track's greatest athletes serving as his pallbearers.
In 1941, the University of Pennsylvania dedicated Murphy Field House as a tribute to Murphy; the Murphy Field House was destroyed by fire in 1968.
The Washington Post in 1913 called Murphy "the father of American track athletics." He was considered the premier athletic trainer of his era and was said to have "revolutionized the methods of training athletes and reduced it to a science." He is credited with establishing many innovative techniques for track and field, including the crouching start for sprinters.
Murphy and his wife, Nora, three children. One of their children, George Murphy, became a well-known movie actor in the 1940s and 1950s and then a U.S. senator from California from 1965 to 1971. Their other son, Charles Thorne Murphy, was a football player at Yale before settling in Detroit.
In June 1913, Murphy died at his home at 4331 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia after a prolonged illness. He reportedly lapsed into unconsciousness after the 1913 Penn track team gathered at his bedside to tell him they had won the 1913 intercollegiate championship.
The funeral was held at St. James Catholic Church at 38th and Chestnut Streets in Philadelphia with many of track's greatest athletes serving as his pallbearers.
In 1941, the University of Pennsylvania dedicated Murphy Field House as a tribute to Murphy; the Murphy Field House was destroyed by fire in 1968.
Michael Charles "Mike" Murphy was an athletic trainer and coach at Yale University (1887–1889, 1892–1896, 1901–1905), Detroit Athletic Club (1889–1892), University of Michigan (1891), Villanova University (1894), University of Pennsylvania (1896–1901, 1905–1913), and the New York Athletic Club (1890–1900). He also coached the American track athletes at the Summer Olympics in 1900, 1908, and 1912. He also spent a year in approximately 1884 as the trainer of heavyweight boxing champion John L. Sullivan.
The Washington Post in 1913 called Murphy "the father of American track athletics." He was considered the premier athletic trainer of his era and was said to have "revolutionized the methods of training athletes and reduced it to a science." He is credited with establishing many innovative techniques for track and field, including the crouching start for sprinters.
Murphy and his wife, Nora, three children. One of their children, George Murphy, became a well-known movie actor in the 1940s and 1950s and then a U.S. senator from California from 1965 to 1971. Their other son, Charles Thorne Murphy, was a football player at Yale before settling in Detroit.
In June 1913, Murphy died at his home at 4331 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia after a prolonged illness. He reportedly lapsed into unconsciousness after the 1913 Penn track team gathered at his bedside to tell him they had won the 1913 intercollegiate championship.
The funeral was held at St. James Catholic Church at 38th and Chestnut Streets in Philadelphia with many of track's greatest athletes serving as his pallbearers.
In 1941, the University of Pennsylvania dedicated Murphy Field House as a tribute to Murphy; the Murphy Field House was destroyed by fire in 1968.
The Washington Post in 1913 called Murphy "the father of American track athletics." He was considered the premier athletic trainer of his era and was said to have "revolutionized the methods of training athletes and reduced it to a science." He is credited with establishing many innovative techniques for track and field, including the crouching start for sprinters.
Murphy and his wife, Nora, three children. One of their children, George Murphy, became a well-known movie actor in the 1940s and 1950s and then a U.S. senator from California from 1965 to 1971. Their other son, Charles Thorne Murphy, was a football player at Yale before settling in Detroit.
In June 1913, Murphy died at his home at 4331 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia after a prolonged illness. He reportedly lapsed into unconsciousness after the 1913 Penn track team gathered at his bedside to tell him they had won the 1913 intercollegiate championship.
The funeral was held at St. James Catholic Church at 38th and Chestnut Streets in Philadelphia with many of track's greatest athletes serving as his pallbearers.
In 1941, the University of Pennsylvania dedicated Murphy Field House as a tribute to Murphy; the Murphy Field House was destroyed by fire in 1968.
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