John H. Murphy

Who was John H. Murphy?

John Hulen Murphy, I, a newspaperman for seventy-four years, was the longtime executive vice president of the Texas Daily Newspaper Association and the former assistant to Richard J.V. Johnson, the president and publisher of the Houston Chronicle.

Jack Sweeney, Johnson's successor as president and publisher of The Chronicle, declared Murphy "a true newspaper professional, having dedicated the bulk of his professional life to the industry in Texas." Under Murphy's leadership, TDNA increased its membership from thirty-one to ninety-eight newspapers, the largest such organization in any state. Murphy also was a director of the Houston Reading, Education, and Development Commission, a literacy program.

Murphy was born in Galveston to Joseph Elmer Murphy and the former Linnie Lovejoy. On his mother's side, he was descended from settlers who arrived in Texas not long before the Texas Revolution of 1836. As a student at Galveston's Ball High School, Murphy was torn between his affection for baseball and journalism. His work as a sportswriter for the Purple Quill school magazine attracted the eye of Jack Glenn, the sports editor of The Galveston Daily News.