The Titan Football family is still mourning the loss of Gene Murphy. In remembrance of him and his positive impact and influence on others, Mike Hastin, has immortalized Murphy in a few video clips.
Hastin was the Titan Football head film curator in the final years of the program before it was suspended. Hastin shot these two interviews in March 2009 during the Titan Football Reunion that was held on campus at Cal State Fullerton.
The coach most recognized as the patriarch of Cal State Fullerton Football has died. Gene Murphy, born August 6, 1939, passed away this morning in Los Angeles at USC University Hospital. Murphy was 72.
Murphy had undergone surgery on Tuesday to treat esophageal cancer and was recovering normally. Unfortunately complications from the surgery had caused Murphy’s heart to stop twice on Friday. Twice doctors and medical staff were able to successfully resuscitate Murphy however they were unsuccessful the third time his heart stopped. Despite the fact that the Cal State Fullerton Football program has been on hiatus since 1992, Murphy’s influence was still prevalent to the day he died.
It’s debatable whether Murphy’s impact was greater on the players he coached or the impressive legacy of coaches whom he hired and mentored. For a man coaching at what would be considered a “small school”, Murphy produced some big time players and coaches.
Three of the most notable players that Murphy recruited and coached were Damon Allen, Mike Pringle and Allen Pitts. Allen won four Grey Cups in the Canadian Football League and was once professional football’s all-time passing yardage leader. Pringle holds the CFL record for rushing, was twice voted the CFL Most Outstanding Player and was inducted into the CFL Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Pitts played for Murphy and went on to tremendous success in Canada retiring as the CFL’s all-time leading receiver in term of career yardage until he was passed by Milt Stegall in 2008. Pitts was elected into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2006 and was enshrined on the Stampeders Wall of Fame in 2005, with the retirement of his jersey number 18.
One other notable player that went to have tremendous success after being coached by Murphy was defensive back, Mark Collins. Collins was drafted 44th overall by the New York Giants and went on to win two Super Bowls (Super Bowls XXI and XXV) while playing for the team that drafted him. Collins also played for the Kansas City Chiefs, Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks and finished his career with 27 interceptions, eight sacks and scored two touchdowns as defensive back.
Murphy’s impression does not end with the mentoring of players but his greatest legacy may come in the form of his “coaching tree”. Numerous professional and major college football coaches can trace their roots back to Cal State Fullerton after ultimately being hired by Gene Murphy. Murphy had an eye for coaching talent and was not afraid to take risks in hiring unproven and green coaches. A number of Murphy’s hires eventually went on to head coaching positions in the NFL.
Current Oakland Raiders Head Coach, Hue Jackson, was an assistant coach under Gene Muprhy in 1990 and 1991 serving as running backs coach and special teams coach. Jackson went on to coach in the NFL as an offensive coordinator for the Washington Redskins, Atlanta Falcons and the Oakland Raiders before ascending to the head coaching position in which he now holds.
Jackson replaced another Murphy protege in Tom Cable. Cable was the head coach of the Oakland Raiders from 2008 to 2010 but started his coaching career at Cal State Fullerton under Gene Murphy in 1990. A third NFL head coach who cut his teeth as a young coach under Gene Murphy was Steve Mariucci. Mariucci was one of Muprhy’s first hires after taking over the Cal State Fullerton program in 1980. Mariucci went on to be the head coach at California-Berkley and was the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers and the Detroit Lions.
The Murphy coaching tree not only extends into the professional ranks but also into major college football. Current head coach of Army Rich Ellerson, Tennessee offensive coordinator Jim Chaney, Northwestern defensive coordinator Jerry Brown and Oregon State defensive coordinator Greg Newhouse all called Gene Murphy “boss” at one time in their coaching career.
Murphy is survived by a 15-year-old daughter, Aileen, and her mother, Christine McCarthy, as well as two adult sons, Tim and Mike and four grandchildren. Services are pending and most likely are more than a week away.
This past Saturday both Coach Gene Murphy and QB Damon Allen were inducted into the Titan Athletics Hall of Fame. Joining Murphy and Allen in the 2009 class were Dan Boone (Titans Baseball), Connie Clark (Titans Softball) and Barbara Myslak-Roetert (Titans Gymnastics). Congratulations to all five. In the video keep an eye out at the 1:45 mark for when Gene Murphy throws his support behind our effort to Bring Back Titan Football.
One is arguably the greatest player to ever wear a Cal State Fullerton Titan Football uniform. The other is the patriarch and the face of a football program that accomplished conference championships and national rankings. Both will be inducted into Cal State Fullerton’s Athletics Hall of Fame at a Titan Tribute on Oct. 10, 2009. Of course we are speaking of the incomparable former Titan Quarterback Damon Allen and former Head Football Coach Gene Murphy.
Murphy and Allen will be joined by four other Titan alumni, Connie Clark (Softball), Bruce Bowen (Men’s Basketball), Barbie Myslak-Roetert (Gymnastics) and Dan Boone (Baseball) to comprise the Hall’s third class of inductees. All six are scheduled to attend the biennial function. Allen and Murphy join Mark Collins and Phil Nevin as the third and fourth members of the hall of Fame to represent the suspended Titan Football program. Both Nevin and Collins were inducted into the Cal State Fullerton Athletics Hall of Fame in 2007.
Damon Allen was a four-year quarterback (1981-84) and three-year pitcher (1983-85) at Cal State Fullerton. He led the football team to its only two conference (Pacific Coast Athletic Association) championships in 1983 and 1984, earning votes as a senior for the Heisman Trophy and setting an NCAA record for fewest pass interceptions in a season (.009 intercepted). He ranks No. 1 at CSF in passes attempted (629) and total offense (4,653 yards). He is No. 2 in passing yards (4,218) and pass completions (322) and No. 4 in TD passes (27).
Allen went on to become the most prolific passer in professional football history with 72,381 total yards in 23 seasons (1985 to 2007) in the Canadian Football League, surpassing Warren Moon’s 70,553 yards (21,228 in the CFL and 49,325 in the NFL). Allen also rushed for 11,920 yards to rank No. 3 in CFL history. He won four Grey Cup Championships and won the league’s MVP Award as a 41-year-old grandfather in 2005.
Allen also was a member of the Titans’ 1984 national championship baseball team as a spot starter and relief pitcher with a record of 3-2 with 4 saves in 50 innings. He was drafted in 1984 by the Detroit Tigers, who pursued him until the first day of Fall classes. In 1994 he had a brief tryout with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Coach Gene Murphy was the face of Titan football for its final 13 seasons (1980-1992). Despite having no home stadium until the final year and very little in the way of resources, he built a program that in a span of seven years (1983-89) won consecutive conference championships (1983 and 1984) and finished in second place four times. He led the Titans to their only bowl appearance — the 1983 California Bowl in Fresno vs. Northern Illinois — and his 1984 team was 11-1 on the field (12-0 after a forfeit from UNLV) and was ranked in the national Top 20. His career record was 59-89-1 — 31-19 at home and 28-70-1 on the road.
Murphy had a knack for hiring brilliant young assistant coaches who served the Titans well before advancing in their careers. His legacy includes two future NFL head coaches (Steve Mariucci and Tom Cable) and numerous NFL and major college coordinators and assistants.
Murphy also was popular with his players on a personal level, showing true concern for their extended families and children. He had great rapport with the Fullerton and Orange County communities and developed long-lasting support groups. After the Titan program was suspended, he became head coach at Fullerton College in 1993 and continued in that role through his recent retirement.
Ticket information will be available on Aug. 1. Please check the official Cal State Fullerton Athletics web page for details and for more information on the other four 2009 inductees.
Image via Wikipedia
Remember The Titans. It’s not just the name on a Jerry Bruckheimer Film starring Denzel Washington. Remember the Titans is the theme for a March 7, 2009 reunion inviting former Cal State Fullerton players, coaches and staff to return to campus.
In years past, former CSUF football players and coaches would organize reunions at local restaurants in and around the Fullerton area. On March 7, 2009, Titan Football players will come together at 1 pm for a reunion that will be held in Titan Stadium. Football players, coaches and staff from the early 1970′s all the way to the early 1990′s are invited to attend and will be treated to lunch, music and guest speakers.
Guest speakers scheduled to address the former players and coaches include CSUF Athletic Director Brian Quinn, former NFL head coach and current NFL Network analyst Steve Mariucci and Gene Murphy, the former CSUF Head Football coach whose name is synonymous with Titan Football. Other prominent Titan Football alumni and former coaches may also address those gathered.
The football reunion is invitation only and only those that were former players, coaches and staff can attend the official reunion at Titan Stadium. After the reunion, many of the former players plan to join the Cal State Fullerton Homecoming tailgate party and Men’s Basketball game in Titan Gym. Both the tailgate party and basketball game are open to the public. At halftime of the basketball game, a special presentation honoring the legacy and contributions of Titan Football to CSUF will be made. The tailgate party begins at 3:00 pm in front of Titan Gym, immediately followed by the Men’s Basketball game vs. UC Irvine at 5:00 pm.
Those former Titan Football players, coaches and staff that have not received an official invitation in the mail are encouraged to contact Kellie Cox, Marketing and Spirit Coordinator, at (714) 278-7016 or via Email. Players should provide their name, complete contact information and the year they played football for the Titans.
A special web page dedicated to the reunion has been created. Former players and coaches can RSVP for the reunion by visiting fullerton.edu/footballreunion. We hope to see as many players, coaches and staff from the past come out and help CSUF “Remember the Titans”.
To truly understand the history and tradition of the Titan Football team, we have put together a photo slide show and shared it on YouTube. Take a minute and a half and give it a look. You’ll recognize a number of impact players and coaches like Damon Allen, Mike Pringle, Phil Nevin, Head Coach Gene Murphy, etc.
Also feel free to share it on your MySpace and Facebook pages, your own personal websites and blogs or simply email the link to anyone that you think is supportive of bringing back Titan Football.