There’s a curious fact on John Murphy’s resume: he’s never called a Super Bowl.
Murphy, the Buffalo Bills’ radio play-by-play announcer, has been on the show since the late 1980s. He initially served as Van Miller’s color commentator and later assumed Miller’s play-by-play duties. But the rights to the Bills briefly changed hands in the early 1990s. Murphy’s absence from the show coincided with the Bills going to four straight Super Bowls.
That makes Murphy’s current situation seem even more gruesome. The Bills got one step closer to the Super Bowl with a thrilling 34-31 win over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. But Murphy hasn’t been in the cabin since he suffered a stroke the weekend before the Bills’ Monday Night Football game against the Cincinnati Bengals Jan. 2. He’s relaxing at home while Chris Brown does the play-by duty on the radio shows.
“I feel for the guy that he needs to be home to watch this all happen,” said Doug Wolf, who has known Murphy since his days on local radio in Lockport, NY, and some time as the sound engineer at the Bills game has worked daily broadcasts. “I don’t think he deserves to be home at this point.”
The past few months have been a whirlwind of emotions for the Buffalo community. It began in the spring when a racist gunman drove acrossstate at a convenience store on Buffalo’s East Side, killing ten people and injuring three others. The region has been hit by several snowstorms, the most recent of which killed at least 44 people around Christmas time. Five children died in a house fire on New Year’s Eve.
The new year began with the news that Murphy would miss the Bengals game due to health issues. In the first quarter of that game, Bill’s safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field and went into cardiac arrest. What was billed as Game of the Year ended abruptly and was not continued. The Bills spent the next few days nervously awaiting updates on his condition. With good news finally arriving, this week ended on an emotional and memorable afternoon at Orchard Park as the Bills defeated the Patriots to become the AFC No. 2 seed.
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The Bills might advance to the divisional round of the playoffs for the third straight season, but the road to get there has been bumpy. Part of what makes Murphy such an asset to the fandom is his deep understanding of the ups and downs that people in the community have gone through. Murphy has been on the shows for more than 30 years. He has lived in the Buffalo area his entire life, handling play-by-play duties during the early years of the Bills’ long playoff drought. Like the best play-by-play announcers, he takes a shared understanding of what his listeners are feeling and translates that into his calls.
“You think of the recent history of the Buffalo Bills, you think of John Murphy,” said WKBW news anchor Jeff Russo. “He’s the bill. He is buffalo.”
Russo, a Rochester native, said Murphy was the reason he came to Buffalo from Nebraska to work at WKBW. Before moving to radio full-time, Murphy built a legendary career in local television that earned him induction into the Buffalo Broadcasting Hall of Fame. Russo recalls Murphy often teasing him to loosen up by telling him, “It’s not rocket science. It’s just sport.”
“This is John Murphy,” Russo said. “He takes his job very seriously but has found a way to do it with so much ease, so much leisure and so much joy. He’s such a big part of the Buffalo sport and always will be, and will continue to be. His absence at the moment is certainly felt.”
It was Murphy who taught Russo the importance of work-life balance. When Murphy was in the news business, he was tirelessly on the hunt for news. Paul Peck, who spent more than 20 years at WIVB, described the dynamic as one where everyone in town knew that if anything happened to the Bills, Murphy would be the one who would know. Peck ended up working with Murphy at WIVB and breathed a sigh of relief when he walked through the door for the first time.
“I didn’t have to worry about getting his butt kicked by him anymore,” Peck said, laughing.
That’s the reputation Murphy has built for those who know him well. He cares a lot about his family, colleagues and football. He never hesitates to get involved in the community or chat with fans. It helped him form a unique connection with Bill’s fans.
“He’s really part of the community,” said former Bills receiver Donald Jones, who co-hosted The John Murphy Show from 2016 to 2018. “The times I was able to hang out with him, I couldn’t go anywhere without him knowing anyone. I just stand there and I’m like, ‘Man, I’m a former player, but this guy is famous out here.'”
A statement from the Murphy family: pic.twitter.com/zkdbKto0xX
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) January 6, 2023
As the NFL product increasingly becomes a TV-first entity, radio shows aren’t as popular as they used to be. At Orchard Park, however, you’ll still see fans in the stands with portable radios and headphones to hear the local talk. Peck, who now serves as the play-by-play announcer for the University at Buffalo athletics, calls this behavior the ultimate compliment for a radio station.
Murphy has proven himself worthy over the years. And it makes the timing of his recent health fight even more difficult. Bills fans have been through a lot over the years and this year in particular. Murphy carried that with him on his calls, and his absence is just another difficulty to contend with.
“I think it’s weighing heavily on Bill’s fans, to be honest,” Russo said. “He’s the guy who’s taken them through the good, the bad and the ugly, and now on the brink of the season where they could take it to new heights, it’s hard not to have him there.”
Peck added, “He’s been doing this for so long and he’s put so much of his heart and soul into it. And when you make those games, you have no control over the team or the games. You’re doing the job the best you can, but it’s certainly a lot better when the team is good and you can scream about touchdowns, you can have Super Bowl calls. That he might miss out on this is what pains me the most as his friend. He deserves that.”
The John Murphy radio call from @Taronj11’s history making moment! #GoBills! pic.twitter.com/BRBZ1NYUp9
— dan o 🦬 (@dano_bills) January 17, 2021
There is currently no timetable for Murphy’s return. His friends have sent messages of love and support to Murphy and his family but have not had a chance to speak to him.
Jones always thinks of Murphy when he watches the Bills highlights on ESPN with the pager in the background. The Bills also create moments worthy of NFL movies, and these rely on the radio calls to set the mood of the moment. This is the kind of special team fans have been waiting their lives for. It’s strange to think that this team’s most important moments don’t have Murphy’s voice as the soundtrack.
“I hope he can make a full recovery and possibly get back in the dressing room,” Jones said. “I know he really loves this. He always talked about being the voice of the team and wanting to win a Super Bowl. The team obviously has the opportunity to do so. I’m sure he wants to be a part of it. I really pray he can come back and be a part of all this stuff.”
(Photo by John Murphy: Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
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