Calvin Murphy - Hall of Fame Basketball Player

Calvin Murphy
(Born 1948)

Hall of Fame Induction: 1993

Card Shown:
2009-10 Panini Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame Monikers

Position: PG/SG
Height: 5’9″

Calvin Murphy was a high-scoring, two-time All-America selection in high school. He led Norwalk High in Connecticut to a state title. In college, at Niagara University, Calvin continued his volume scoring and was a three-time All-America selection. He played his entire thirteen-year NBA career for the San Diego/Houston Rockets and thrived in the NBA at only 5’9″ tall. Calvin was drafted by San Diego in 1970 and played the remainder of his career in Houston after the franchise moved there the following year.

Awards and Honors

Murphy was one of the top high school players in the history of New England basketball. Playing for Norwalk High in Connecticut, Calvin averaged 25.6 points as a sophomore, 31.8 points as a junior, and 40.3 points as a senior. He led Norwalk to a the Class L state championship during his senior year.
Calvin had 235 scholarship offers but chose to play college basketball at Niagara University in New York under coach Frank Layden. He was a three-time All-American at Niagara, selected for the NCAA AP All-America Second Team in 1967-68 and to the First Team in 1968-69 and 1969-70.
Murphy made the NBA All-Rookie team in 1970-71 along with Bob Lanier, Pete Maravich, Dave Cowens, and Geoff Petrie.
Calvin was named an NBA All-Star once, during the 1978-79 season.
The Rockets retired Murphy’s number 23 jersey, placing him in select company with Yao Ming (#11), Clyde Drexler (#22), Moses Malone (#24), and Hakeem Olajuwon (#34).
In 1978-79, Calvin received the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award, given annually to a player, coach, or staff member who demonstrates outstanding service and dedication to the community.

Points of Interest

During his college career, Calvin was a prolific scorer, averaging 38.2 points per game in 1967-68, 32.4 ppg in 1968-69, and 29.4 ppg in 1969-70. However, Murphy’s scoring was overshadowed by Pete Maravich, who averaged 43.8 ppg, 44.2 ppg, and 44.5 ppg during those same three years to become the greatest scorer in college basketball history.
Murphy was selected by the San Diego Rockets with the first pick in the second round (18th overall) of the 1970 NBA Draft. The first four picks in that draft, in order, were Lanier, Rudy Tomjanovich, Maravich, and Cowens.
Calvin was an incredible free throw shooter. He once made 78 consecutive free throws and led the NBA in free throw percentage in 1980-81 (95.8%) and 1982-83 (92.0%). Murphy shot 89.2% from the charity stripe during his career.
On March 18, 1978, Calvin scored 57 points as the Houston Rockets lost a close game to the New Jersey Nets. That total would stand as the most points scored in a game by a Rockets player for nearly 40 years. James Harden broke the record when he scored 60 points on January 30, 2018.
Murphy finished his NBA career with averages of 17.9 points, 4.4 assists, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game.

Statistics

Calvin Murphy Statistics
provided by Basketball-Reference.com

Personal Autograph Interactions

Calvin Murphy is one of the nicest and most approachable Hall of Famers that we have come across. We spent a few minutes with him at the 2020 Hall of Fame Induction weekend and again at the 2023 Hall of Fame Induction weekend.

In 2021 (when the 2020 class ended up being inducted due to Covid) Calvin was there to support his friend and former teammate Rudy Tomjanovich. We took a picture with him at the dinner prior to the induction ceremony. During that weekend he signed my 1972-73 Topps card.

In 2023 Calvin signed my 1971-72 Topps card in the lobby of the Mohegan Sun and my 1975-76 Topps card at the paid autograph signing at the Hall of Fame museum.

Both weekends that we met him Calvin was happy to sign cards and take selfies with fans. He always did this with a smile on his face. Calvin helped to make our weekends very special times to remember.

Thank you, Calvin!