Johnny Murphy
Born: 7/14/1908 in New York, NY, USA
Died: 1/14/1970 in New York, NY, USA
MLB Debut: 1932-05-19 | Final Game: 1947-09-16
Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'2" | Weight: 190 lbs
Full name: John Joseph Murphy
Biography
Johnny Murphy was a prominent pitcher in Major League Baseball, whose career spanned from 1932 to 1947. Born in 1908, Murphy established himself as a reliable arm in the league, finishing his career with a record of 93-53 and an earned run average (ERA) of 3.5. Over the course of his time on the mound, he recorded 378 strikeouts and achieved 107 saves, showcasing his versatility and effectiveness in both starting and relieving roles. His performance earned him three All-Star selections, highlighting his status as one of the premier pitchers of his era.
Murphy played during a transformative period in baseball history, navigating the tail end of the Great Depression and the early years following World War II. He was known for his competitive spirit and strategic pitching style, which allowed him to thrive in a league that was becoming increasingly dominated by powerful hitters. His contributions to the game, particularly in high-pressure situations, solidified his legacy as a key figure in the development of relief pitching, a role that would grow in importance in the decades following his retirement. Johnny Murphy remains a respected name in baseball history, remembered not only for his statistics but also for his impact on the game during a pivotal time.
Negro Leagues Career Statistics
Batting
| PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.0 | 3.0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.333 | 0.333 | 0.333 | 0.666 |
Pitching
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6.0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 5.0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting
| Season | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.333 | 0.333 | 0.333 | 0.666 |
Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Pitching
| Season | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 | 6.0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 5.0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
Career Pitching Statistics
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 93 | 53 | 415 | 40 | 17 | 0 | 107 | 1045.0 | 985 | 406 | 52 | 444 | 378 | 3.50 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Pitching
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1932 | NYY | AL | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.3 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 16.20 | - |
| 1934 | NYY | AL | 14 | 10 | 40 | 20 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 207.7 | 193 | 72 | 76 | 70 | 3.12 | - |
| 1935 | NYY | AL | 10 | 5 | 40 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 117.0 | 110 | 53 | 55 | 28 | 4.08 | - |
| 1936 | NYY | AL | 9 | 3 | 27 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 88.0 | 90 | 33 | 36 | 34 | 3.38 | - |
| 1937 | NYY | AL | 13 | 4 | 39 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 110.0 | 121 | 51 | 50 | 36 | 4.17 | - |
| 1938 | NYY | AL | 8 | 2 | 32 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 91.3 | 90 | 43 | 41 | 43 | 4.24 | - |
| 1939 | NYY | AL | 3 | 6 | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 61.3 | 57 | 30 | 28 | 30 | 4.40 | - |
| 1940 | NYY | AL | 8 | 4 | 35 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 63.3 | 58 | 26 | 15 | 23 | 3.69 | - |
| 1941 | NYY | AL | 8 | 3 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 77.3 | 68 | 17 | 40 | 29 | 1.98 | - |
| 1942 | NYY | AL | 4 | 10 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 58.0 | 66 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 3.41 | - |
| 1943 | NYY | AL | 12 | 4 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 68.0 | 44 | 19 | 30 | 31 | 2.51 | - |
| 1946 | NYY | AL | 4 | 2 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 45.0 | 40 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 3.40 | - |
| 1947 | BOS | AL | 0 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 54.7 | 41 | 17 | 28 | 9 | 2.80 | -77.2 |
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 415 | 298 | 30 | 46 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 29 | 103 | 0.154 | 0.232 | 0.198 | 0.430 | -752.2 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1932 | NYY | AL | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 0.0 |
| 1934 | NYY | AL | 40 | 71 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 30 | 0.099 | -752.2 |
| 1935 | NYY | AL | 40 | 32 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 7 | 0.156 | 0.0 |
| 1936 | NYY | AL | 27 | 36 | 4 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0.361 | 0.0 |
| 1937 | NYY | AL | 39 | 35 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 0.229 | 0.0 |
| 1938 | NYY | AL | 32 | 32 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 0.062 | 0.0 |
| 1939 | NYY | AL | 38 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0.182 | 0.0 |
| 1940 | NYY | AL | 35 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0.077 | 0.0 |
| 1941 | NYY | AL | 35 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0.056 | 0.0 |
| 1942 | NYY | AL | 31 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0.154 | 0.0 |
| 1943 | NYY | AL | 37 | 19 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0.053 | 0.0 |
| 1946 | NYY | AL | 27 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 1947 | BOS | AL | 32 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0.273 | 0.0 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0.167 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1943 | WS | NYA | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1941 | WS | NYA | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| 1939 | WS | NYA | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| 1938 | WS | NYA | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1937 | WS | NYA | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1936 | WS | NYA | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.500 |
Playoff Career Pitching
| W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 16.3 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 1.10 |
Playoff Pitching by Year
| Year | Round | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1943 | WS | NYA | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.00 |
| 1941 | WS | NYA | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0.00 |
| 1939 | WS | NYA | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2.70 |
| 1938 | WS | NYA | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.00 |
| 1937 | WS | NYA | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| 1936 | WS | NYA | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2.7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3.38 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 415 | 0 | 77 | 226 | 22 | 17 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1932 | NYA | P | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1934 | NYA | P | 40 | 0 | 19 | 41 | 3 | 6 |
| 1935 | NYA | P | 40 | 0 | 6 | 21 | 2 | 0 |
| 1936 | NYA | P | 27 | 0 | 9 | 19 | 3 | 4 |
| 1937 | NYA | P | 39 | 0 | 9 | 39 | 3 | 1 |
| 1938 | NYA | P | 32 | 0 | 7 | 21 | 1 | 0 |
| 1939 | NYA | P | 38 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 1 | 1 |
| 1940 | NYA | P | 35 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| 1941 | NYA | P | 35 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 1 |
| 1942 | NYA | P | 31 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 3 | 1 |
| 1943 | NYA | P | 37 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 2 | 1 |
| 1946 | NYA | P | 27 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 2 | 2 |
| 1947 | BOS | P | 32 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 415 |
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fordham University | New York | NY | 1929 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1943 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 33th | 1.0 | 336 | 0 |