Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN/WGR 550) - "It's sad that his time on the Bills broadcast has come to an end, but he has so much to be proud of, and there's so much to be celebrated," said Buffalo Bills color analyst Eric Wood, as he reflected on John Murphy's career as the team's play-by-play man for nearly 20 years.
"Murph" allowed WBEN's Susan Rose to interview him at his home to announce that he's stepping down from the game day broadcast.
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As a former Bills player, and now as an analyst in the booth, Wood shared an interesting perspective on Murph.
"As a player, we always thought he did an incredible job, but it's the way he made you feel when he was around you. He would emcee events for us, and was always around the guys outside of the broadcast. We all love Murph. Everybody loves John Murphy," Wood said.
Howard Simon, longtime WGR morning show host and one-time WBEN sports
host, pointed out that Murphy took over for Bills legend Van Miller in 2003, an unenviable position.
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"Van is on the Mt. Rushmore of broadcasters. For Murph to be able to step in
and replace Van and do it seamlessly, is not an easy thing to do. He pulled it off like there was no bump in the road," recalled Simon.
Simon, who grew up on Long Island, was hired out of college in 1989 and said John Murphy was the guy he looked up to. He said he listened to Murph every night on One on One Sports on WBEN. That's how he learned about Buffalo sports and how to be a talk show host.
In the broadcast booth, Wood says Murphy made it easy when he joined him as color commentator.
"The play-by-play guy runs the show. You wait for a prompt after a play and it just becomes natural to know when to step in," he said.
Wood also talked about the preparation that he and Murph would do before every game.
"You need to know everybody's name and story lines. You have to think on your toes quickly, especially the play-by-play guy in order to call out the names, who made the play, and especially on the radio when the listener can't see the game. If you're not prepped to paint that picture, it's not going to be a good broadcast. I give Murph a ton of credit for being on his toes all of those years," Wood added.