With the 2021-22 season, John Murphy ‘88 has been involved with Gilmour Academy baseball for a total of 30 years as both a coach and a player. He first stepped into a coaching role in 1993 under then-head coach Ray Sharnsky, an Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association (OHBCA) and Gilmour Academy Hall of Fame inductee. Murphy has been a part of the Lancer coaching staff ever since - with the exception of the two years he took off in 1994 and 1995 to attend law school in Michigan.

Under Sharnsky, Murphy was a part of the program that sent five teams to the regional tournament and had one state semifinal appearance in 2008. The 2008 team also set a school record for most wins in a season with 25. Overall, the Lancers earned more than 300 wins during that time. Upon Sharnsky’s retirement from coaching, Murphy assumed the same responsibilities under then-head coach Jay Fowler ’00 as the program continued its winning ways. The Lancers put together one of the most impressive seasons in program history in 2019, earning conference, sectional, district and regional championships on the way to a DII state runner-up finish. The team also tied the school record for wins in a season with 25. During his time as an assistant coach, Murphy helped the Lancers compile a record of 450-225.

Murphy then took the reins of the program, assuming the title of head coach in August 2019. He prepared the team in the offseason to make a return trip to the OHSAA Division II state championship, but the 2020 season for all spring sports was cancelled due to COVID-19.

During the 2021 season, Murphy continued the Lancers’ winning tradition. Gilmour won its second straight district title, won 18 games overall and only bowed out of the playoffs in a 10-inning heartbreaker in the regional round. In Prep Baseball Report’s final state rankings, Gilmour was listed at No. 7 in Division III. Gilmour was led by ace Ben DeMell ’21, whose record-breaking senior season saw him earn all-state honors. As a result of the Lancers’ achievements in 2021, Murphy was named Division III/IV Coach of the Year by the Greater Cleveland Baseball Coaches Association.

Murphy played for Gilmour from 1985-88 and was an outfielder for the team that won three Southeast Conference championships. In his final two seasons as a Lancer, the team went 40-10, and he was named News-Herald Honorable Mention.

Upon graduation from Gilmour, Murphy earned a bachelor’s degree from Purdue University and a J.D. from Thomas M. Cooley Law School. He is currently one of the owners at the National Asbestos Litigation law firm of Kelley & Ferraro, LLP. He is a member of the Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association, the Greater Cleveland Baseball Coaches Association, the Northeast Ohio Baseball Coaches Association, the Ohio, New York, Michigan and Pennsylvania State Bar Associations and the Million Dollar Advocates Forum. He has been recognized as an Ohio Super Lawyer 12 times, named to the Top 100 Civil Plaintiff Attorneys by the National Trial Lawyers and was nominated as a board member of the Cleveland Baseball Federation. He served as commissioner of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Associations Young Lawyer’s Softball League for 10 years.

Murphy currently resides in Orange Village, Ohio, with his wife of 25 years, Amy ’88. They have four children: Michael ’16, Molly ’18, Megan ’19 and current Gilmour baseball player Paddy ’22.