Jack Murphy (February 5, 1923 – September 24, 1980) was a sportswriter and columnist for the San Diego Union newspaper from 1951–1980. Jack Murphy Stadium was named in his honor. He was affectionately referred to by fans simply as "The Murph" and "El Murph" by Spanish speakers.
On December 21, 1960, Murphy wrote a column for the San Diego Union proposing that the Los Angeles Chargers of the American Football League (AFL) should become a San Diego franchise.[3] Over the next year, through his Union articles, he would become a key figure in persuading San Diegans to relocate the Chargers.[4] He also helped secure the San Diego Padres baseball team as a National League expansion team in 1969.
Jack Murphy Stadium
Statue of Jack Murphy and his dog Abe in front of the stadium. The statue now sits outside of Snapdragon Stadium.
After the Chargers began to outgrow Balboa Stadium, Murphy assisted in lobbying for a new San Diego stadium in his sports articles for the San Diego Union.[5] A 50,000-seat stadium was proposed to and approved by San Diego voters in 1965.[2][5]
The eventual 54,000-seat San Diego Stadium was renamed San Diego–Jack Murphy Stadium[6] after Murphy died in 1980.[7] It was also known by its shortened name "The Murph".[5] The stadium was renamed Qualcomm Stadium in 1997 and Qualcomm retained the naming rights until 2017. The stadium was renamed SDCCU Stadium in 2018 after San Diego County Credit Union purchased the naming rights. In order to continue to honor Murphy, the city named the stadium site Jack Murphy Field.[8]
Personal life
Murphy owned a black Labrador Retriever named Abe that he would write about in his articles. A statue of Murphy with Abe is located in front of Qualcomm Stadium.[2]
