John B. Murphy

• 50+ Years involved in Chicagoland Water Polo, National and International levels

• 6 Decades of Water Polo in the Chicago Park District: Lafollette, Blackhawk, Beilfaus, Shabonna, Sheridan, Riis, Welles, Independence, Gill, Eckhart, Kosciuszko, Portage…

• Several City Tournament Championships, in addition to City Champs at 14, 16, 18 years and under at Lafollette Park HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE (FENWICK HIGH SCHOOL 1971-1975)

• Catholic League Champs 1971, 1972, 1973 and 1974 undefeated all four years

• Played over 100 games going undefeated at the high school level •  1974 Illinois State Champions

• VP – State of Illinois 1974, Tony Lawless Award Winner Chicago Catholic League 1974

• High School All American 5th Team 1974 COLLEGE ATHLETE

• Bradley University 1975-1977 founded the Water Polo Program and was the team MVP three years in a row and also served as Head Coach

• Indiana University 1978 starting player NATIONAL LEVEL

• 1977 And 1978 Olympic Development Camp Colorado Springs Midwest Team

• 1978 North American Summer League Champions, undefeated season

• Played and Coached St. Louis/Clayton, MO National Tourney 35+ years

• Played and Coached Des Moines, IA National Tourney 15+ years

• Played and Coached in many AAU Tournaments at the Open Level and at the Masters Level winning a number of them around the country in IL, FL, IA, MI, MO…

• Played in AAU Indoor National Championships many times – highest finish 4th Place – made the top 6 several times

• Played in Pan Pacific Games – taking First Place in 1984

• Organized/directed the first ever Water Polo Games in Lake Michigan at Oak Street Beach

• Selected and Played in First Televised (channel 7) Water Polo Tournament in Chicago 1977 INTERNATIONAL LEVEL

• Original and founding member of the Chicago Apostles Water Polo Club – oldest Masters Water Polo Club in the Chicagoland Area

• 3rd in the World Master Championships in Sheffield, England 1994

• 6th in the World Master Championships Montreal, Canada 1993

• Played in World Championships 15 + years

• Played/Coached Windsor, Canada Tournament 10+ years – 1st Place or top 3 all ten years

• Player/Coach for the Chicago Apostle’s for 3+ decades

• 2012-2016 Loyola Academy

• Head JV Coach for last 4 years with a 110-10 record, won a number of JV Tourneys

• Assistant Head Coach of the Varsity State Champs in 2014

John Murphy is Chicago and Illinois Water Polo. He has played the sport since he was a little kid… All throughout high school, college, and AAU. He is currently a coach at the high school level. John was one of the toughest players when he competed. He could score, pass, play defense and even coach…as he did for many years even while playing for the Chicago Apostles. I personally played against John Murphy in high school and college and later became his teammate. Believe me, it was much better being his teammate than playing against him. You heard of the expression: “it’s not the dog in the fight, but rather the fight in the dog?” That’s John Murphy. As a teammate you could always count on Murph to watch your back, both in the water and on the deck after a tough game. He scored when he had to, he many outstanding pin point accurate passes that lead to many breath taking goals, he often times guarded the biggest and toughest player on the opposing team. He never missed a summer tournament when he was an active player. He traveled all over the country representing our city and state playing water polo…even internationally. I am proud of John and all his accomplishments to the sport of water polo, to the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois. I was fortunate enough to play with him for some 12 years on the Apostles. I am even more fortunate to call him my friend. I strongly and highly recommend John Murphy for the Illinois Water Polo Hall of Fame.