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A man immortalized in bronze outside the home of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers will soon be honoured inside, too.
The late Cal Murphy, who spent 14 years as Bombers head coach or general manager — sometimes both simultaneously — will have his name added to the club’s Ring of Honour during a halftime ceremony July 30, when Winnipeg hosts the B.C. Lions.
“We are excited to know how complimentary people are about him and honoured they still remember him as their own Canadian and Winnipeg-born head coach and GM,” the Murphy family said in a statement provided by the Bombers on Thursday.
Murphy spent 25 years coaching and managing in the CFL, leading various teams to nine Grey Cup championships and earning a spot in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
During his time in Winnipeg, the Bombers appeared in five Grey Cup games and won three. The team were crowned champions in 1984, 1988 and 1990. They lost the big game in 1992 and 1993.
Winnipeg Blue Bombers coach Cal Murphy celebrates a Grey Cup victory with Bomber Delbert Fowler after they defeated the B.C. Lions in Vancouver on Nov. 11, 1984. (Nick Didlick/The Canadian Press)
Born in Winnipeg in 1932, Murphy grew up in Vancouver, where his family moved. He spent several years coaching football at American universities before joining the CFL in 1974 as an assistant with the B.C. Lions. He became head coach in 1975.
He moved on to the Montreal Alouettes in 1977 and won his first Grey Cup as an assistant with that team. He spent 1978 through 1982 as an offensive line coach with Edmonton, where the team won five consecutive Grey Cup titles.
He became the Bombers’ head coach in 1983, and the following season, he brought Winnipeg its first Grey Cup championship in 22 years. Murphy was named the CFL’s coach of the year in both 1983 and 1984.
He served as head coach from 1983-86, then as general manager from 1987-1996. During the last three years, from 1993-96, Murphy was both head coach and GM.
He was also one of the driving forces in helping bring the Grey Cup game to the city, in 1991, when the Toronto Argonauts defeated the Calgary Stampeders 36–21 at the old Winnipeg Stadium.
When he left the club after the 1996 season, Murphy had a coaching record of 86 wins, 51 losses and one tie, which was second most in franchise history at the time, just behind Bud Grant (102-56-2).
Since then, current head coach Mike O’Shea (118-78) has taken over top spot.
The Cal Murphy statue is seen in 2017 when it was unveiled outside of Gate 3 at the stadium. (Wpg_BlueBombers/X)
Murphy finished his CFL career in Regina with the Saskatchewan Roughriders from 1997-99. He coached with the Frankfurt Galaxy in NFL Europe in 2002, followed by a stint with the Chicago Enforcers in the short-lived XFL.
He was inducted into the Winnipeg Football Club Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2004.
Murphy was working as a scout for the Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts when he died in 2012.
Since 2001, the Bombers have presented the annual Cal Murphy Heart of a Legend Award to the player who best demonstrates outstanding sportsmanship and dedication to the CFL and community.
In 2017, the club unveiled a statue of Murphy outside of what is now known as Princess Auto Stadium.
There are 17 names currently in the Bombers’ Ring of Honour. Their names and jersey numbers are permanently mounted along the inside edge of the stadium’s upper concourse.
Hulking offensive lineman Chris Walby, who wore the Bombers colours for 16 seasons, was the first, in 2016.
Murphy will be the 18th inductee.