University of Vermont Athletics

John Murphy 1975 - Hockey

A 1999 UVM Hall of Fame inductee, as well as a former standout defenseman and two-time ECAC All Star, John Murphy captained the first Division I hockey team at Vermont.

In 1974-75, when Murphy captained the squad, the Catamounts shocked the hockey world with a third-place finish in the ECAC Championship. Vermont defeated Providence in the quarterfinals before falling to the eventual champion, Boston University, in the semifinals. Murphy earned his ECAC Division II All-Star honors during his sophomore and junior seasons when the Catamounts were 25-6 and 28-5, including an astonishing 37-1 record in the division.

As a freshman, Murphy recorded 11 assists. He added eight goals and 19 assists as a sophomore, and two goals and 27 assists his junior year, when he was named an NCAA Division II All-American. His senior year, Murphy scored four goals and added 14 assists for 18 points. Murphy, a native of Dedham, Mass., finished his career with 14 goals and 71 assists for 85 points in 126 games.

The defenseman still holds a piece of the UVM record for most points in a game by a defenseman. On Dec. 30, 1972, he recorded five points in a win over Buffalo, tying the record held by his defensive partner and fellow Hall of Famer, Ted Child, and another Hall of Fame member, Ted Yeates.

John's younger brother, Jim, also played hockey at UVM and was the team's captain in 1980. John and Jim Murphy are the only brothers who have served as UVM hockey captains in its history.

Murphy graduated from UVM and went on to earn a master's degree in communication disorders, again from UVM.