Hendrix College Athletics

Jonesboro native Joe Murphy didn't play basketball until junior high, when a coach noticed him in P.E. class and encouraged him to try out for the team. Developing his newfound talent became his focus, even helping him through the difficult experience of losing his father that same year. He excelled to the point of closing out his high school basketball career by cutting down the net at Barton Coliseum following Jonesboro's state championship victory over North Little Rock.

Murphy received attention from basketball recruiters at some 27 colleges and universities, including the U.S. Air Force Academy, West Point, Davidson, Michigan, and Florida. Ultimately, he chose to play for Hendrix because of the presence of Coach Lawrence Mobley and because his mother knew he would get a fine education at Hendrix. While obtaining that fine education, he shone on the court, leading the Warriors in rebounds and being name All-AIC and Most Valuable AIC Player four times. Headlines from the 1963 season give a sense of the team success: "Warrior winning streak stuns AIC," "Hendrix round ball history made," and "Deadly defense and cheering crowds crown Hendrix's fabulous February feats."

He graduated from Hendrix with a degree in business and economics, and married fellow student Lynne Gleason Murphy '66. He worked as a manager and herdsman for Gleason Hereford Farms and taught and coached in Dardanelle Public Schools before opening his own business, Murphy's Sporting Goods. He served on the Dardanelle School Board for 12 years, five of those as the board president. He was an avid fisherman and cyclist, and a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. He died on June 22, 2009 following a bicycle accident.