Eastern Greene standout also made his mark here in Bloomington on and off the softball diamond
If there was ever a local success story, Jim Murphy is it.
First known as a star athlete out of Eastern Greene High School, Murphy got his foot in the door of Cook Inc. and rapidly climbed the company ladder until he became President of CFC Properties, the branch of the Cook Group that has done so much for the city of Bloomington and Monroe County.
But that is just the tip of the iceberg for Murphy. Name a community board and he has probably been on it, maybe even been the head of it. Here is a partial list: Downtown Bloomington Inc.; YMCA Board of Directors (past president); Bloomington Economic Development Corp.; Bloomington Hospital Foundation; Bloomington Chamber of Commerce; Banneker Center (committee chair); Monon Trail Preservation Corp; Bloomington Parks & Recreation Board of Commissioners.
Oh, he also found time to coach youth baseball, softball and basketball teams. In the meantime, he continued to be an exceptional athlete on the Bloomington adult basketball and softball circuits. With all that community involvement, it is no surprise that Murphy is going into the Monroe County Sports Hall of Fame as Contributor/Athlete.
Murphy a Greene County great
His athletic achievements are many. At Eastern Greene from 1970-74 he played four sports: baseball, basketball, track and cross country. He still holds basketball records in single game points (41) and rebounds (29). He averaged a double-double of 17.2 points and 13.8 rebounds. He was a two-time MVP in track, setting the school record in the discus.
He earned a scholarship to play basketball and baseball at Southern Union State Junior College in Alabama and was MVP of the baseball team his freshman year. After getting his associates degree in two years, he received another baseball/basketball scholarship to Missouri Valley College where he graduated with a degree in teaching in 1978.
“My plan was to teach high school and coach,” Murphy said. He did do some substitute teaching, but his first full-time job was at Otis Elevator in Bloomington. From there he went to work for Crider Construction, first as a laborer and then as a construction superintendent. He was not in the construction business for the long haul, however.
“I wasn’t happy,” he said. “I needed a change in my life.”
He used a sports connection to get the job he wanted by contacting former Indiana University basketball player Chuck Franz, who he got to know on the basketball courts of Bloomington. Franz was employed by Cook Inc., a global giant in the field of medical devices.
“I asked Chuck if he could get me an interview,” Murphy said. “He did but said I was on my own after that.”
In 1987 Murphy got hired into one of Cook’s mid-level rungs as a maintenance supervisor.
“I was willing to take a job at any level just to get my foot in the door at Cook,” he said. “With my construction background it was a good fit. I was involved with a lot of contractors and overseeing a crew that maintained all our facilities, and Cook had lots of properties.”
From there his rise was meteoric: to Director of Operations in 1989, to Vice President of CFC Operations in 1991 then President of CFC Properties in 1993, a position he held until his retirement in 2023.
Some of the projects Murphy had a hand in helped shape the Bloomington we know today: the revitalization of downtown, the construction of the B-Line Trail, the acquisition and development of Switchyard Park, the addition of nine holes at Cascades Golf Course and the construction of a YMCA on the northwest side. Beyond Monroe County, there was the restoration of West Baden Resort, which in 1996 was the largest historic preservation project in the nation.
“I never thought I would be president of anything,” Murphy said. “One of the things I’m proudest of is working for (owners) Bill and Gayle Cook as long as I did (36 years). Bill really encouraged community involvement, which allowed me to go out and do things for CFC.
"When the door of opportunity opened, I was ready to walk through. I was willing to step out of my comfort zone.”
From humble beginnings
Knowing where Murphy came from, you can appreciate his journey even more.
Born in Linton in 1955, he was the fifth of Walter and Barbara Murphy's eight children. With neither parent having graduated from high school, it was difficult to find the right jobs needed to feed and nurture the family. Before Jim had finished high school, the family had moved 14 times.
“Some of my brothers and sisters went to three schools in one year,” Jim said. “There were times it was hard to put food on the table, and times the electricity was turned off. I learned at any early age that if you wanted something, you had to work for it.
"I shoveled snow, mowed yards and had a paper route. I remember playing the outfield without a ball glove because there weren’t enough to go around. Growing up we didn’t have much, but we had love and family.”
He also had sports, which turned out to be his ticket to a college education.
“I couldn’t have done it without sports,” he said. “Sports were something I was able to compete in, something I wanted to get better at and work hard at it.”
Converting those baseball skills to the softball diamond, Murphy played for five state champions and two national runners-ups. In 1987 he helped Crider Construction become the only Bloomington team to ever win the top-heavy Bloomington Invitational Tournament. How it played out is the stuff of legend.
Thunder and lightning
Having already hit three home runs in three at-bats earlier in the title game, Murphy was Crider’s last hope as a thunderstorm loomed over Lower Cascades Park. With Crider down a run and Murphy on deck and two teammates on base, umpires and tournament officials conferred. The decision was, no matter what, Murphy would be the final batter.
“The field was a muddy mess,” Murphy said. “I kicked the fence to get the mud off my shoes and then walked to the plate on my heels to keep from getting any more mud on them. In between pitches I didn’t reset because I didn’t want to move my feet. I was laser focused.”
Only in Hollywood does a game end like this, with Murphy slamming a towering no-doubter, the ball disappearing over the fence with lighting flashing all around, just like Roy Hobbs in the classic baseball movie, The Natural.
“As soon as I hit it, I knew it was a home run,” Murphy said. “The left fielder and center fielder didn’t even look up to see if the ball went over the fence. They just ran off the field with lightning literally lighting up the sky. I took my time circling the bases.”
Such feats earned Murphy a spot in the Indiana Softball Hall of Fame in 2006, just one of many honors he has garnered. Other awards include the Chamber of Commerce Leadership Award, Sam Walton Business Leadership Award and Downtown Bloomington Board Member of the Year. He has even been honored by the Kentucky Colonels philanthropic organization.
Murphy also was on the original Board of Directors of the Monroe County Sports Hall of Fame in 2009. Being a selectee for that ring of honor is something he doesn’t take lightly.
“This (honor) is right up there at the top because it involves so many aspects of one’s life,” he said. “I am very humbled by this, because I know what the Hall of Fame’s mission is, what it promotes and all those inductees … wow.”
Awards banquet July 25
Murphy is one of 12 honorees for the Monroe County Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2025. He will be officially inducted along with others at the awards banquet on Friday, July 25, at the Bloomington Convention Center.
Also going in as a Contributor is Shelby Wilson, a longtime supporter of area wrestling. Athletes to be inducted are North’s Alex Guyton, Edgewood’s Andy Anderson and Sarah Thompson (Figg), and South’s Lance Fox, Jonathan Holmes and Ronnie Schneider. Coaches going in are Larry Williams and Wayne Nichols and entering by way of the new Pioneer category are Ted Fox and Bob Snoddy.
Tickets are available until July 15 through the Monroe County Sports Hall of Fame website, monroecountyshof.org.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: More than athletics earns Jim Murphy spot in Monroe Co. Sports HOF
Category: General Sports
