John Murphy retires as Buffalo Bills play-by-play announcer

The news isn’t a surprise, and it was always going to come, but Thursday morning it became official: John Murphy will not return to the Buffalo Bills broadcast booth and was forced to retire due to the accident stroke he suffered. January 1, 2023.

“I’m going to miss it a lot.” Murphy told a reporter for the Bills team website. “I will miss the people more than anything. I am at peace). I made (the decision) over the last month or so.

Murphy suffered his stroke the day the Bills flew to Cincinnati to face the Bengals, and Chris Brown assumed duties the following night at Cinergy Field, although his debut lasted only half a quarter . It was the night Damar Hamlin suffered his near-death cardiac arrest and the game was interrupted, then postponed and finally canceled.

Brown finished the 2022 season, then handled play-by-play throughout 2023 with analyst Eric Wood at his side. Brown is expected to officially be named to replace Murphy, but it appears other people will be interviewed for the position.

Murphy has made a gradual recovery over the past year and a half. He lost 70 kilos, says he feels good physically, but his speech still hasn’t returned to 100% despite months of speech therapy and this motivated him to retire.

He told the Buffalo News on Wednesday: “It’s a little ironic. I’m in the best shape of my life and I can’t talk.

Murphy has been a major player in the Buffalo media scene since the mid-1980s, when he began hosting a nightly sports radio show on WBEN in Buffalo, replacing another legendary Buffalo media figure, Stan Barron , died in November. 1984.

Murphy served as sports director at WBEN until 1992 and continued to do his radio show until 1995, eventually dropping out because by 1989 he had moved to television when he took over from Rick Azar, who was retiring as a sports anchor at WKBW, Buffalo’s ABC affiliate.

He then joined WIVB-TV, the CBS station, in 2008, and remained there until June 2012, when he became a full-time employee of the Bills, which included hosting the show radio now called One Bills Live and writing for the team’s website.

Murphy had joined the Bills broadcast team in 1984 as a Van Miller analyst and served in that capacity until 1989. However, WBEN lost the rights to the Bills broadcasts and Murphy was not on the team. cabin during the four straight seasons the Bills advanced to the Super. Bowl.

In 1994, WGR retained the rights, but analyst Greg Brown left to take a play-by-play position with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and Murphy was brought back to serve as Miller’s sidekick until Miller took over. his retirement in 2003, opening the door for Murphy to become. the play-by-play man. He held this position – as well as host of One Bills Live – until falling ill.

The 67-year-old Lockport native was inducted into the Buffalo Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame in 2019. He also received the Dick Gallagher Legacy Award from the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 2022 for his work in the community .

He is also the author of a book, co-written with former Democrat and Chronicle sports columnist Scott Pitoniak, titled If These Walls Could Talk: Buffalo Bills: Stories from the Sidelines, the Locker Room and the Buffalo Bills press box. The book was not yet finished when Murphy suffered a stroke, but he managed to publish it despite his speech impediment and it was published last September.

“John’s love and enthusiasm for the Bills and Western New York has been evident for over 30 years in the booth,” Bills owner Terry Pegula wrote in a statement. “We will all miss his big calls and his passion as a play-by-play announcer. We continue to wish him and his family all the best during his recovery and hope that he can continue to be a part of our organization in the future.

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