Calvin Murphy

Before basketball, Calvin Murphy was a world-class baton twirler. He says he was "bullied into it" as his mother and all six of her sisters were twirlers.[1] As an 8th grader, in 1963, he won a national championship in baton twirling.[2] His reputation as a twirler earned him invitations to perform at major sporting events and the 1964 New York World's Fair.[3] In 1977, at the height of his basketball career in Houston, Murphy won the Texas State Men's Twirling Championship.[1]

He played basketball for Norwalk High School, where he was All-State three times and All-America twice. He is a member of the Connecticut Coaches Association Hall of Fame and a Connecticut Sportswriters Gold Key Award winner.[2] Norwalk High School's address is now 23 Calvin Murphy Rd. in his honor.[3]

Murphy attended Niagara University, where he was a three-time All-American. He scored 2,548 points in 77 games (33.1 points per game).[2]

One of his best games was a 68-point outing against Syracuse University at Niagara's Gallagher Center.[4] In 1970, he led Niagara to the NCAA tournament and advanced to the second round, where they lost to Villanova. During his career he was famous for being one of "The Three M's", along with Pete Maravich and Rick Mount, both of whom were NCAA Men's Division I Basketball All-Americans at the same time as Murphy.

Murphy is a member of the Alpha Nu Omega chapter of the Iota Phi Theta fraternity, being initiated alongside fellow future Hall of Famer Elvin Hayes.[5]

Murphy was drafted by the San Diego Rockets (now the Houston Rockets) as the first pick in the second round (18th overall) of the 1970 NBA draft. In his first season, Murphy was nominated to the NBA All-Rookie team. A diminutive guard at 5 feet 9 inches (175 cm), Murphy was known for his quickness and defensive ability.[2]

Murphy was one of the best free-throw shooters ever, setting NBA records for most consecutive free throws made and for the highest free throw percentage in a single season (1980–1981). Both records have since been broken. He set many other records within the Rockets organization, including that of all-time leading scorer until that record was broken in 1994 by Hakeem Olajuwon. The Rockets made it to the NBA Finals in 1981, losing to the Boston Celtics in six games. After retiring from the NBA in 1983, Calvin Murphy was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993.[2]

After retirement, Murphy continued to work for the Rockets organization in numerous roles, mainly as television analyst for Rockets games. He is currently the halftime and post-game analyst for local Rockets broadcasts on AT&T SportsNet.[2]

He hosted "The Calvin Murphy Show" on ESPN Radio's Houston affiliate from 2007 until its cancellation in January 2010.[6][7]

• Inducted to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993
• Jersey #23 retired by the Houston Rockets
• Second highest Free Throw Percentage in a Season – 206 of 215 (95.8%) in 1980–81
• NBA Consecutive Free Throws Made – 3rd, 78 (December 27, 1980 – February 28, 1981) [8]
• NBA All-Rookie Team: 1971
• NBA All-Star Team: 1979
• Games played; 1,002
• Career points: 17,949 (17.9 points per game)
• Career steals: 1,165
• Career assists: 4,402 (4.4 apg)
• Career high points: 57 (against New Jersey Nets- March 18, 1978)
• Career playoff high: 42 (against San Antonio Spurs- April 17, 1981)
• 1000-point seasons: 11

• List of shortest players in National Basketball Association history
• List of National Basketball Association players with 1000 games played
• List of National Basketball Association players with 9 or more steals in a game
• List of NCAA Division I men's basketball players with 60 or more points in a game

• NBA.com: Calvin Murphy Bio – Murphy's NBA bio
• Video of Calvin Murphy demonstrating how baton twirling helps with basketball