Frank Murrey
{{Short description|American football player and track athlete}}
{{distinguish|Frank Murray (disambiguation){{!}}Frank Murray}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox college football player
| image = Frank Murrey.png
| school = Princeton Tigers
| currentnumber =
| currentposition = Quarterback
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1900|7|27}}
| birth_place = Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1977|2|14|1900|7|27}}
| death_place = Franklin, Tennessee, U.S.
| heightft =
| heightin =
| weight =
| pastschools = Princeton (1918–1920)
| highlights =
- Consensus All-American (1918)
- Princeton's All-Century Team 1900-99
|class=Graduate
}}
Frank Lester Murrey (July 27, 1900 – February 14, 1977) was an American college football player, track athlete, and banker. He plaued football at Princeton University from 1918 to 1920 and was selected by Walter Camp as the first-team quarterback on the 1918 All-America college football team.
Early years
Murrey was born in Nashville, Tennessee.{{cite news|title=Nashville Man Who Was a 1918 All-America At Princeton, Calls All-America 'Foolish'|newspaper=Nashville Banner|author=Bob Rule|date=October 21, 1941|page=12|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/nashville-banner-frank-murrey/158044208/|via=Newspapers.com}} He attended the Tabox School and at The Webb School in Bell Buckle, Tennessee. He played sandlot football in Nashville and at The Webb School.
Princeton
Murrey played quarterback for Princeton University from 1918 to 1921. As a freshman, he was selected by both Walter Camp and the Frank Menke Syndicate as a first-team player on the 1918 All-America college football team.{{cite news|title=Camp's All American: Football Dean Names Three Teams from Last Season's Records|work=The New York Times|date=1918-12-31|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1918/12/31/97058136.pdf|format=PDF}}ESPN College Football Encyclopedia, p. 1153 Murrey was a prominent athlete and won the British AAA Championships title in the javelin event at the 1920 AAA Championships.{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003358/19200704/166/0010 |title=The Athletic Championships |work=Weekly Dispatch (London) |date=4 July 1920 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |access-date=23 November 2024 }}{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000569/19200705/204/0009 |title=Athletics |work=Newcastle Journal |date=5 July 1920 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |access-date=23 November 2024 }}{{cite web|url=https://nuts.org.uk/Champs/AAA/index.htm |title=AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists |website=National Union of Track Statisticians |access-date=23 November 2024 }}
Also in 1920, Murrey ran 77 yards for a touchdown in Princeton's 14–0 victory over Navy. The New York Times described the run as a "nerve-tingling moment" and a "dazzling serpentine gallop."{{cite news|title=Princeton Beats Navy by 14 to 0: Murrey's Dazzling Run of 77 Yards to a Touchdown Is feature of Battle; Dodges Past Whole Team; Good Interference Helps Tiger Quarterback to Zigzag His Way to a Score|work=New YOrk Times|date=1920-10-24}} He was also rated as "one of the all-time great dropkickers." He reportedly once converted 50 consecutive field goals from a distance of 40 yards.{{cite news|title=Franklin All-American (1918) Deplors 'Lost Football Arts'|newspaper=Nashville Banner|date=December 2, 1950|page=3|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/nashville-banner-franklin-all-american/158044021/|via=Newspapers.com}} In 2000, Murrey was named as one of the backs on Princeton's All-Century Team 1900-99.{{cite web|title=Princeton's All-Century Team 1900-99|publisher=Princeton University|url=http://www.princeton.edu/~paw/archive_old/PAW99-00/07-1215/1215feat.html#story2}}
In 1921, he won the Elks Grand Prix, a 600-meter special invitation race featuring the nine top college stars.{{cite news|title=Murrey Captures 500-Metre Race: Finish So Close Judges Have Difficulty Naming Winner at Legion Games|work=The New York Times|date=1921-02-23|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1921/02/23/103549685.pdf }}
Later years
Murphy served in the military during World War I. He also worked for a banking house in New York and then returned to Tennessee where he worked for Rogers Caldwell Co. He later worked for an investment banking firm in Chicago and then returned to Tennessee where he worked as president of Franklin Industrial Corp., founded the Dixie Poultry Processing Company, and finally worked as a public relations director for Harpeth National Bank until retiring in 1972. He died on February 14, 1977, after a lengthy illness at age 76, at Williamson County Memorial Hospital in Franklin, Tennessee.{{cite news|title=Murrey Starred in the Ivy League|newspaper=The Tennessean|author=Mac Harris|date=April 18, 1960|page=7|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tennessean-murrey-starred-in-the-ivy/158043678/|via=Newspapers.com}}{{cite news|title=Rites Today For Banker Frank Murrey|newspaper=The Tennessean|date=February 15, 1977|page=25|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tennessean-rites-today-for-banker-fr/158043357/|via=Newspapers.com}}
Murrey was married to Mary Farr Denton. They had two children, Lale and Betty.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Find a Grave|152263017}}
{{Princeton Tigers quarterback navbox}}
{{1918 College Football Consensus All-Americans}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murrey, Frank}}
Category:American football drop kickers
Category:American football quarterbacks
Category:American public relations people
Category:Princeton Tigers football players
Category:All-American college football players
Category:American military personnel of World War I
Category:Webb School (Bell Buckle, Tennessee) alumni
Category:Players of American football from Nashville, Tennessee