Talk:Robert M. Murphy

Robert Martin Murphy, administrator of W&J College, student solicitor, and graduate manager of athletics from 1906 until his death on July 4, 1925.

There are many errors on Wikipedia about my grandfather - for example, the date of his death. The 1921 W&J football team, under Earle “Greasy” Neale, whom “Murph” had hired, was composed of 35 players, 20 of whom traveled out to Pasadena. NOT 11! It is true that only eleven players played. One was Pruner West, first Black QB in a Rose Bowl (the Tournament of Roses then). Pruner was a substitute for Ray McLaughlin - the QB who had led the team through the entire 1921 undefeated season! The Detroit game was an “add-on” by Murph because Detroit felt it deserved the invitation. Not W&J. It was also Murph who told Washington and Lee that Pruner West would not be removed in 1923. He was a team member. Mdonnan47 (talk) 21:42, 26 January 2018 (UTC)

Number of team members traveling to Pasadena was 20! This is my grandfather - we have the Pennsylvania Railroad Itinerary, listing all twenty players’ names. We also have headlines from Pittsburgh and Chicago newspapers PLUS the photo of the team members, once they had arrived. Murph WAS not just paying his own way. He paid to have his daughter, son, and wife accompany them, but also his in-laws, Helen and James Beall Wylie. This is published in her memoirs: “Grandmother, What Makes Your Eyes So Big?”

I keep correcting these facts, yet they switch back to errors! Yes. 11 men played the entire game, but 20 traveled out. The total number of players on that 1921 team was 35. Mdonnan47 (talk) 17:32, 6 February 2018 (UTC)