| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Peter Murphy[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1922-03-07)7 March 1922[2] | ||
| Place of birth | West Hartlepool, England | ||
| Date of death | 7 April 1975(1975-04-07) (aged 53)[1] | ||
| Place of death | Coventry, England | ||
| Position | Inside left | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Coventry City | |||
| Birmingham | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1946–1950 | Coventry City | 115 | (37) |
| 1950–1952 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | (14) |
| 1952–1960 | Birmingham City | 244 | (106) |
| Total | 397 | (157) | |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Peter Murphy (7 March 1922 – 7 April 1975), often referred to asSpud Murphy, was an Englishfootballer who played as aninside left. He played professionally for three clubs,Coventry City,Tottenham Hotspur andBirmingham City. He is possibly best remembered for the incident in the1956 FA Cup final whenManchester City's goalkeeperBert Trautmann broke a bone in his neck when diving at Murphy's feet.
Murphy was born inWest Hartlepool,County Durham, and moved toCoventry,Warwickshire, with his family when he was four years old.[2] He was with bothCoventry City andBirmingham as an amateur footballer before his career was interrupted by the Second World War. He turned professional with Coventry City in May 1946 at the age of 24, making over 100 appearances and scoring at a rate of a goal every three games.
ManagerArthur Rowe took him toTottenham Hotspur in June 1950 for a fee of £18,500. Murphy scored on his debut in a 4–1 victory overBolton Wanderers atBurnden Park in August 1950.[3] He played as aninside forward, deputising for the injuredLes Bennett in the "push and run" side that won theLeague championship in1950–51. On Bennett's return to fitness, Murphy found himself being played out of position on theleft wing, so whenBirmingham City bid £20,000 for him in January 1952 he was willing enough to drop down a division to return tothe Midlands.
WhenTommy Briggs left Birmingham later that year, Murphy took up a more attacking role in the team. He was an energetic player with a powerful left-foot shot who was willing to shoot from any distance, and was Birmingham's leading scorer three times, in the1952–53,1954–55 and1957–58 seasons. He retired from playing in 1959 to coach Birmingham's youth team, but was called out of retirement for the last seven games of the season and scored four goals which contributed to the club avoiding relegation to theSecond Division.
Murphy scored five goals in Birmingham's run to the1956 FA Cup final, in which they lost 3–1 to theDon Revie-inspiredManchester City. This match is best remembered for the incident where Manchester CitygoalkeeperBert Trautmann was injured when he dived at Murphy's feet to collect the ball, but played on in considerable pain for the last 15 minutes of the match without realising he had broken one of thevertebrae in his neck. The following season Murphy scored another four goals in Birmingham's FA Cup run, which ended this time in semifinal defeat toManchester United'sBusby Babes.
He was also a pioneer of European competition. He played in Birmingham's first match in the1955–58 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, when they became the first English club side to participate in Europe,[4] and finished that campaign as the competition's joint leading scorer.[5] He also played in the second leg of the1960 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final, which was the first appearance by an English club side in a European final. Birmingham lost 4–1 toBarcelona.[4]
Over his professional career he scored 158 goals in nearly 400 League appearances. For Birmingham his record was 127 goals in 277 games in all competitions, which ranks him third as of 2024[update], behindJoe Bradford andTrevor Francis, in their all-time scoring charts.
Murphy died in Coventry in 1975 at the age of 53.[1]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Coventry City[6] | 1946–47 | Second Division | 11 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 12 | 2 | |
| 1947–48 | Second Division | 29 | 7 | 2 | 0 | — | 31 | 7 | ||
| 1948–49 | Second Division | 36 | 13 | 1 | 0 | — | 37 | 13 | ||
| 1949–50 | Second Division | 39 | 15 | 1 | 0 | — | 40 | 15 | ||
| Total | 115 | 37 | 5 | 0 | — | 120 | 37 | |||
| Tottenham Hotspur[7] | 1950–51 | First Division | 25 | 9 | 0 | 0 | — | 25 | 9 | |
| 1951–52 | First Division | 13 | 5 | — | 1[a] | 1 | 14 | 6 | ||
| Total | 38 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 39 | 15 | ||
| Birmingham City[8] | 1951–52 | Second Division | 15 | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | 16 | 7 | |
| 1952–53 | Second Division | 34 | 20 | 4 | 6 | — | 38 | 26 | ||
| 1953–54 | Second Division | 32 | 13 | 2 | 1 | — | 34 | 14 | ||
| 1954–55 | Second Division | 37 | 20 | 4 | 0 | — | 41 | 20 | ||
| 1955–56 | First Division | 38 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 2[b] | 0 | 46 | 16 | |
| 1956–57 | First Division | 35 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 2[b] | 1 | 43 | 12 | |
| 1957–58 | First Division | 36 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 3[b] | 3 | 40 | 23 | |
| 1958–59 | First Division | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 11 | 4 | |
| 1959–60 | First Division | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 8 | 4 | |
| Total | 244 | 106 | 24 | 16 | 9 | 4 | 277 | 126 | ||
| Career total | 397 | 157 | 29 | 16 | 10 | 5 | 436 | 178 | ||
Tottenham Hotspur
Birmingham City
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