James Murphy – Treharne Drive, Pentre
James Patrick “Jimmy” Murphy (27 October 1910 - 14 November 1989) was a football
player and later a manager. He played more than 200 times for West Bromwich Albion and
made an appearance in the 1935 FA Cup Final. He also briefly played for Swindon Town and
was also called up to the Welsh national football team during the 1930s.
During the Second World War, Murphy was giving a speech about football to a band of troops, and in attendance was Matt Busby. Busby was so impressed that, upon his appointment as manager of Manchester United, he made Murphy the first signing of his tenure at the club. In his role as assistant manager, it was Murphy’s responsibility to scout and train the young footballers who were to become the “Busby Babes”, which included the likes of Duncan Edwards and Bobby Charlton.
After the Munich air disaster of 6 February, 1958, he temporarily took over as manager while Matt Busby recovered from his injuries and, having assembled a substitute team, steered United to the FA Cup final. Murphy had not been on the fatal flight because he had been away managing the Welsh team in a World Cup qualifying game. Murphy managed Wales at the 1958 FIFA World Cup Finals, when they reached the quarter-finals in their only appearance in a World Cup. They lost 0-1 to Brazil (the eventual winners), to a goal by the young Pele.
Despite being approached to manage Brazil, Juventus and Arsenal, he remained as assistant manager at Old Trafford until 1971.
