Jim Murray (American football)

Murray was born into an Irish Catholic family in West Philadelphia on June 5, 1938. He was raised in a rowhouse in West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Murray attended Our Mother of Sorrows Parish grade school and West Philadelphia Catholic High School. He and his brother Francis W. "Fran" Murray were athletic. Jim Murray graduated from Villanova University in 1960. Murray and his wife, Dianne, resided in Rosemont, Pennsylvania. They had five children and five grandchildren. He died in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania on August 25, 2025, at the age of 87. ==Career==

Murray began his career in sports administration with the Tidewater Tides of baseball's South Atlantic League. After a tour of active duty with the Marine Corps Reserve, he returned to baseball as assistant general manager of the Atlanta Crackers, an affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. In 1964, he left baseball to enter the restaurant business. He returned in 1966 to his alma mater, Villanova University, as its sports information director. ==Film and television==

Murray's company has produced the local television show Eagles Cheers. Murray's nephew T. Patrick Murray (son of his brother Fran) is a filmmaker who produced The Last Game, a football documentary film for ESPN. ==Charity work==

During his 14 years with the Eagles, Murray assumed leadership roles in a number of community projects. He helped start the successful Eagles Fly for Leukemia campaign and co-founded with Dr. Audrey Evans the first Ronald McDonald House, located in Philadelphia. Murray persuaded many of his peers in the NFL to become involved in the unique Ronald McDonald House concept. ==Awards==

Murray received numerous honors and awards, including: • Leonard Tose Award (2002), first awardee • American Medical Association's Citizen of the Year Award (1999) • American Legion Distinguished Service Award (1992) • Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame Philadelphia City All-Star Chapter (inducted 1992) • President Ronald Reagan's Medal for Volunteers of America (1987) • Bakers Club of Philadelphia's Bert Bell Man of the Year Award (1983) • Catholic Leadership Institute's Award for Outstanding Catholic Leadership (2005) • The American Catholic Historical Society's Commodore John Barry Award (1996) ==See also==