Bob Murphy

His vast knowledge and insight of Stanford University and its athletic history will provide a unique perspective to Cardinal fans.

General Monahan, 1954 Navy Team Captain

For me it is always fun to go back through the pages of the Stanford Football "History Book" and pick out personal experiences that I will never forget.

When I think of Navy, I go back to that first game between the two schools when they met in 1954. I had just wound up two years of professional baseball and was finishing up some work at the Graduate School of Business. What excited me was that my old pal Phil Monahan was the Captain of that Navy team and this Stanford game was a "homecoming" for him since we both grew up and attended school in Burlingame. We went to Our Lady of Angels grade school together. Phil's mom and dad were both born in Ireland, and the Murphy side was only a generation or two removed from the "old sod" also.

Later, Phil was an outstanding football player at Serra High School, and then went over to St. Mary's. The bad news was that the Gaels dropped football shortly after Phil got there, and it was then that Eddie Erdelatz reached out and asked Phil to come back with him to the Naval Academy.

Phil became a part of strong winning seasons in 1952 and 1953 and came back to his California "homecoming" at that Stanford game with his Navy squad in the fall of 1954.

You all know my feelings about Stanford, but I loved my dear old friend, too. The "Middies" rolled over the "Indians" of that era 25-0. A tough and hard-running fullback, Phil scored one of the touchdowns and had a lot to do with a big Middie win. Navy went on to an 8-2 season and beat Mississippi 21-0 in the Sugar Bowl for one of their greatest seasons ever. I will always be happy and proud of Phil as captain of that historic team.

Phil opted for the Marines upon leaving the Academy, survived two very intense battle assignments in Vietnam, and, as General Monahan, he closed out his career in the Marine Corps as the Commanding Officer of Camp Pendleton.

Phil and his wife Suzanne now make their home in South Carolina, and we had a wonderful visit last year in Annapolis. Phil wasn't too pleased with that 41-38 score which favored the Cardinal. I had to remind him that the 25-ZIP deal they laid on us 52 years ago wasn't a whole lot of fun, either.

What is more important, our friendship goes back well beyond that, and we really love the excitement, the competition, and the sportsmanship that will be displayed here on Saturday in a brand new Stanford Stadium.

Murph's Memories Archive