Marty Murphy

Coach and founder of the Texas Fire Basketball program, Marty Murphy, passed away on Tuesday, September 20 after a long, extensive battle with cancer. He has touched the hearts of many players, coaches and parents over the many years that he has given his life to girls’ basketball.
 
Marty was a very special coach and extraordinary human being; he had a special smile that I will always remember. I have had the pleasure of working with Marty in girls’ basketball for many years. I was fortunate enough to go hunting with him a few years ago, his favorite pastime to just “get away.” If I called Marty about basketball, the conversation always ended in us talking about hunting; he loved the outdoors.
 
In all of my years, I have never met a man with such passion, integrity, and love for the game of basketball. He was a competitor, and like all of us, he loved to win. But winning was just part of it; he took a lot of his time and hours away from his family to help young ladies fulfill their dreams of playing at the next level. I know that Marty would have done anything it took to help out his players. Through all of this, his family stood behind him because they knew what the game meant to him.
 
I have been in youth sports for 43 years now, and I can honestly say that Marty was the ultimate example of how a coach should act on and off the court. He was so intense at times on the court, pushing his players to be the best that they could be. Marty took every game seriously and left it all on the court when he coached. I have watched Marty battle with his illness this past year to the point that he could not coach to his full potential; I know Marty well enough that it devastated him as much as it hurt me.
 
I have seen the game of basketball change so much over the past 20 years, but not Marty. He loved the game for the game and not for the show. He spent countless hours talking to college coaches about his kids. He was loyal to his players and to anyone that needed his support. If I had a child playing today, Marty would be the coach that I would have wanted her to play for. Coaches would do well to follow in Marty’s footsteps.
 
Marty has been such an inspiration to me and to my faith. He has demonstrated to me that you can never give up and you have to fight to the end. Marty lost his wife this past year, battled his cancer, and still found it inside to see life as a blessing. I feel so blessed to have had a great conversation with Marty about 10 days ago. We talked about basketball, hunting, and life, the Lord and about death. We talked about our wives and about how blessed we both were to have such great life partners that supported us so much with our passion for basketball. The last thing I said to Marty was, I love you man. He told me he loved me and we hung up. I will dearly miss my dear friend but I know that I will see him on the other side. Good-bye Marty and thanks for all of your love and support to Premier Basketball and me.
 
 
Funeral Arrangements
 
Visitation in Chapel
Monday, September 26, 2016
6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Roselawn Funeral Home
1000 S Highway 175
Seagoville, Texas 75159
972-287-2121
 
Funeral Service
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
10:00 am to 11:00 am
Central Baptist Church
1749 S FM 148
Crandall, Texas 75114