William D. Murray (September 9, 1908 – March 29, 1986) was an American football and basketball coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at University of Delaware from 1940 to 1942 and from 1946 to 1950 and at Duke University from 1951 to 1965, compiling a career college football record of 142–67–11. During his tenure at Delaware, Murray tallied a 49–16–2 mark including three undefeated seasons from 1941, 1942, and 1946; there was no formal team from 1943 to 1945 due to World War II. Murray's career record at Duke was 93–51–9, giving him second most wins in program history behind Wallace Wade. Murray was also the head basketball coach at Delaware for one season in 1944–45.
 Murray c. 1964 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 9, 1908 Rocky Mount, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Died | March 29, 1986 (aged 77) Durham, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1928–1930 | Duke |
| Position(s) | Halfback |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1940–1942 | Delaware |
| 1946–1950 | Delaware |
| 1951–1965 | Duke |
| Basketball | |
| 1944–1945 | Delaware |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1940–1951 | Delaware |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 142–67–11 (football) 3–9 (basketball) |
| Bowls | 3–1 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Football 1 College Division National (1946) 1 Mason-Dixon Conference (1946) 1 SoCon (1952) 6 ACC (1953–1955, 1960–1962) | |
| Awards | |
| Football Amos Alonzo Stagg Award (1971) 3× ACC Coach of the Year (1954, 1960, 1962) | |
| College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 1974 (profile) | |
In 1965, Murray retired as Duke's head football coach and was named executive secretary of the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), where he served for 17 years. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1974. In 1983, Murray was inducted into the Delaware Sports Hall of Fame.[1] Murray died on March 29, 1986, in Durham, North Carolina.[2]
Head coaching record
editFootball
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens (Independent) (1940–1942) | |||||||||
| 1940 | Delaware | 5–3 | |||||||
| 1941 | Delaware | 7–0–1 | |||||||
| 1942 | Delaware | 8–0 | |||||||
| Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens (Mason-Dixon Conference) (1946) | |||||||||
| 1946 | Delaware | 10–0 | 3–0 | 1st | W Cigar | 19 | |||
| Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens (Independent) (1947–1950) | |||||||||
| 1947 | Delaware | 4–4 | |||||||
| 1948 | Delaware | 5–3 | |||||||
| 1949 | Delaware | 8–1 | |||||||
| 1950 | Delaware | 2–5–1 | |||||||
| Delaware: | 49–16–2 | 3–0 | |||||||
| Duke Blue Devils (Southern Conference) (1951–1952) | |||||||||
| 1951 | Duke | 5–4–1 | 4–2 | 6th | |||||
| 1952 | Duke | 8–2 | 5–0 | 1st | 18 | 16 | |||
| Duke Blue Devils (Atlantic Coast Conference) (1953–1965) | |||||||||
| 1953 | Duke | 7–2–1 | 4–0 | T–1st | 18 | 18 | |||
| 1954 | Duke | 8–2–1 | 4–0 | 1st | W Orange | 14 | 14 | ||
| 1955 | Duke | 7–2–1 | 4–0 | T–1st | 16 | ||||
| 1956 | Duke | 5–4–1 | 4–1 | 2nd | 20 | ||||
| 1957 | Duke | 6–3–2 | 5–1–1 | 2nd | L Orange | 14 | 16 | ||
| 1958 | Duke | 5–5 | 3–2 | 3rd | |||||
| 1959 | Duke | 4–6 | 2–3 | 6th | |||||
| 1960 | Duke | 8–3 | 5–1 | 1st | W Cotton | 11 | 10 | ||
| 1961 | Duke | 7–3 | 5–1 | 1st | 14 | 20 | |||
| 1962 | Duke | 8–2 | 6–0 | 1st | 14 | ||||
| 1963 | Duke | 5–4–1 | 5–2 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1964 | Duke | 4–5–1 | 3–2–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1965 | Duke | 6–4 | 4–2 | 3rd | |||||
| Duke: | 93–51–9 | 63–17–2 | |||||||
| Total: | 142–67–11 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
| |||||||||
References
edit- ^ "Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame in Wilmington, Delaware - 1983". www.desports.org.
- ^ "Former Hen coach Murray dead at 77". The Morning News. Wilmington, Delaware. March 30, 1986. p. 18. Retrieved June 16, 2021 – via Newspapers.com
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External links
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