Well Respected and Dedicated Coach and Teacher
Bill Murphy was born in Pittsburgh on July 15, 1937. He attended school in the Port Vue and McKeesport School Districts, graduating in 1955. Upon graduation, Bill entered the Army for a three-year enlistment. While in the Army, he played basketball for the Fort Meade ASA team, who was the post champion in the 1956-57 season. After his Army tour of duty, he enrolled at Indiana State Teachers College in the summer of 1958. His major was Social Studies and he intended to play basketball at Indiana State Teachers College, but a knee injury ended that aspiration.
At the end of Bill’s course of study, he was assigned to a student teaching position within the Gateway School District at Monroeville Junior High with Mr. Bob O’Leary being his co-operating teacher for the 1960-61 school year. As a student teacher, he helped Coach Forte and Coach O’Leary with the Junior High basketball team. The next year Bill was hired as part of the Gateway School District’s teaching staff. Now being a part of the teaching staff at Monroeville Junior High, he was able to continue to help with the basketball team.
In the 1962-63 school year, a transfer to South Junior High School occurred. Bill soon became an assistant track coach to Coach Ralph Ingersoll. This was an important time because he was able to aid Ralph Ingersoll with the job of starting the first junior high school track team. They remained a coaching team until Coach Ingersoll became head track coach at Gateway High School. With his move to the high school, Bill was then appointed to the position as the head track coach at South Junior High School. He remained in this roll until his resignation in 1979–80.
During the years of being involved with track, Bill was also dedicated to the basketball program in the Gateway School District. In 1964–65 he began his career as an assistant basketball coach to Coach Regis Laughlin at Gateway High School. During these years, Gateway won two section championships in the 1963–64 and 1964–65 seasons. The 1964–65 team advanced to the semi-finals of the WPIAL tournament. This particular team was inducted to the Gateway Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.
Bill’s involvement with the Gateway basketball program included fifteen years as an assistant coach to Head Coaches Regis Laughlin, Art Betts and Bob Holden. During this time, the Gators won four sectional championships. Two of these teams reached the semi-final games of the WPIAL Tournament.
The next step in the basketball program for Bill led him to become the Head Coach. For thirteen years he served as Head Basketball Coach at Gateway High School. During this period of time his teams won two sectional championships. There were also four other years that his teams participated in the WPIAL play-offs. In 1987–88 the Gators advanced to the WPIAL semi-final game and then continued on to the Pennsylvania State Playoffs. This team was able to reach the semi-final game of the Western Region.
Throughout his many years of coaching, Bill credits many outstanding individuals for his success. During these years he had the opportunity to coach with Coach Munson and Coach Washburn.
He also feels very fortunate to have been granted the opportunity to coach Greg Munson, Paul Holzshu and Terry Smith as basketball players at Gateway High School. They, in turn, served as coaches at Gateway High School.
Bill not only was involved with the track and basketball programs at Gateway, but also contributed the football program during their home games. For the past thirty years, he has been the “spotter” during the home football games working along side of the voice of Gateway, Regis Giles.
In summary, Bill had a total of thirty-five years teaching Social Studies at Gateway School District. Twenty-eight of those years were spent being a coach. His hall of fame coaching career is as follows:
* 13 years Head Basketball Coach Gateway High School
* 15 years Assistant Basketball Coach Gateway High School
* 11 years Head Track Coach South Junior High School
* 7 years Assistant Track Coach South Junior High School
* 30 years Spotter in Announcing Booth Gateway Football Games
Bill is very proud and humbled to become a member of the Gateway Sports Hall of Fame. He states, “I feel privileged to share this honor with such an array of outstanding individuals and teams. My wonderful association with so many talented players, coaches, and teachers has been a fulfillment in my life. I thank each and every one of you for this special night, and I know I will forever be grateful for all the fond memories of being a coach within the Gateway School District.”