Guy Murdock

Guy Boyd Murdock (born June 27, 1950) is a former American football player. He played at the center position for the Houston Oilers during the 1972 NFL season and was named to the NFL All-Rookie team. He also played for the Chicago Fire and Chicago Winds of the World Football League in 1974 and 1975. He was selected as the Fire's most valuable player in 1974.

Murdock from 1972 Michiganensian
Born: (1950-06-27) June 27, 1950
Chicago, Illinois
Career information
Position(s)Offensive lineman
CollegeUniversity of Michigan
NFL draft1972 / Round: 16
Career history
As player
1972Houston Oilers
1974Chicago Fire
1975Chicago Winds

Murdock played college football at the University of Michigan from 1969 to 1971. He was selected as a first-team All-Big Ten Conference center in both 1969 and 1970 and was a co-captain of the 1971 Michigan Wolverines football team. The 1971 team with Murdock as co-captain finished the regular season undefeated before losing to Stanford by a 13–12 score in the 1972 Rose Bowl.[1] During Murdock's three seasons as Michigan's starting center, the team compiled a record of 28–5.

Early years

Murdock was born in Chicago in 1950 and grew up in Barrington, Illinois. He graduated from Barrington High School.[2][3]

Michigan

Murdock enrolled at the University of Michigan in 1968 and played on the all-freshman football team.[4] As a sophomore, Murdock became the starting center for the 1969 Michigan Wolverines football team, the first Michigan team coached by Bo Schembechler. Murdock started seven games at center and was selected as an All-Big Ten Conference player.[5]

As a junior, Murdock was again the starting center for the 1970 Michigan team. He started all 10 games for the Wolverines and was selected as an All-Big Ten center for the second consecutive season.[6]

As a senior, Murdock was chosen as a co-captain of the 1971 Michigan Wolverines football team and started all 12 games at the center position.[1] He also received the 1971 Meyer Morton Award as the player showing the greatest development and most promise as a result of spring practice.[1][7]

Murdock graduated from the University in 1972 with a bachelor of science degree in mathematics.[8]

Professional football

Houston Oilers

Murdock was drafted by the Houston Oilers in the 16th round (396th overall pick) of the 1972 NFL Draft.[2] He appeared in 14 games for the Oilers during the 1972 NFL season.[2] Despite being named to the UPI's NFL All-Rookie team,[9] he was cut by the Oilers after the 1972 season.[3] Murdock later recalled that the Oilers had "phobias about weight" and insisted that he increase his weight from 220 pounds to 245 pounds. Murdock complied but noted, "I played at 245, but I felt slow and overweight and fat."[3] He noted, "Bo Schembechler wants you lean and trim and without fat . . . so we had no weight-building bulk project at Michigan."[3]

Chicago Fire and Winds

After being released by the Oilers, Murdock worked as an eighth grade math teacher in Houston.[3] He received a second opportunity to play professional football when the World Football League was formed for the 1974 season. Murdock played at the center position for the Chicago Fire and was honored with the team's most valuable player award. The Chicago Tribune wrote that Murdock was "regarded as the most adept blocker on the line."[10]

The Fire disbanded after the 1974 WFL season, but a new franchise, called the Chicago Winds, was formed. In May 1975, Murdock signed to play for the Winds.[11] He played for the Winds during the 1975 season, but the team folded after two of the owners withdrew their investment.[12]

References
  1. "1971 Football Team". Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan.
  2. "Guy Murdock NFL & AFL Football Statistics". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC.
  3. Bill Jauss (August 4, 1974). "Is Fire guy 'exhibit A' in W.F.L. prosecution?". Chicago Tribune. p. B4.
  4. "University of Michigan Football Rosters database". Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan Football Rosters. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28.(enter "guy" and "murdock" in the name boxes to retrieve Russ's roster details)
  5. "1969 Football Team". Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan.
  6. "1970 Football Team". Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan.
  7. "The Meyer Morton Award". University of Michigan. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
  8. 1972 Michiganensian, p. 302.
  9. "Harris, Reaves On All-Rookie Team". St. Petersburg Times (UPI story). December 26, 1972.
  10. "Mudock is MVP for Fire". Chicago Tribune. November 14, 1974. p. C5.
  11. "Winds Sign Some Ex-Fire". The Argus-Press (AP story). May 29, 1975.
  12. "WFL drops Winds; Parilli files suit". Boston Globe. September 3, 1975. p. 24.
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