By John Murphy
The invitation set the tone for the event:
“Our scouts have been observing your play for several months and we are pleased to inform you that you have been selected to compete in the fourth annual Murphy Invitational Tournament (MIT).”
Continued the invite, “All players and guests are also invited to our Tennis Blowout, which won’t help your backhand but should quench your thirst.”
The MIT was the brainchild of my brother, Jim Murphy, and was held in 1972, ’73, ’74 and ’75, then returned for a farewell performance in 1993. Wimbledon it was not, but nobody complained.
I texted my brother in Burlingame and asked him his funniest memory of the event. He said, “Rolling kegs onto the court. What could they do? The after party at the Schaukowitch house was a blast. Mostly, the tennis was damned competitive. Lots of fairly athletic people with marginal tennis skill.”
There was competition in both singles and mixed doubles. Most of the players were my brother’s friends from either high school or Santa Clara University. Luminaries included Jim Wilhelm who later played outfield for the San Diego Padres, former Capuchino High basketball and baseball ace Matt Kriletich and Bill Chambers, who led Bellarmine College Prep to a slew of section soccer titles in the 1990s.
But it was former Crestmoor High shortstop Jim Beck who walked away with the top prize the first two years (if there was a prize). The entry fee was only $3, so Beck was not lifting any crystal vases into the air.
By 1975 my brother had graduated from college and I took over the event.
I did not reserve the tourney site, Burlingame Intermediate School, for the competition. This required me to boot eight serious adult players off the premises before we could begin play.
“How did you reserve the courts – who did you talk to?” an agitated man wearing all whites and clutching his Jack Kramer asked me.
“Superintendent Johnson,” I said, making up a name.
“Well, I don’t believe you, but we’ll leave,” he said.
Then we rolled a keg of Coors onto the court.
Matt Colvin and Jim Dwyer won in 1974 and ’75. Besides running the tourney in ’75, I was also dog-sitting for our neighbor Ed Fennelly. Ed was the commissioner of the West Catholic Athletic League, the most powerful high school athletic league in Northern California. .
The post-tourney blowout was at our family home and the dog was there. I guess things got a little crazy because the pooch slipped out the front door without anyone noticing. We lost Ed Fennelly’s dog!
It wasn’t until 2 a.m. after scouring the whole neighborhood that we found Ed’s poodle in a neighbor’s garage.
Finding the dog was a huge relief and a fitting end to the Murphy Invitational era. That is until 1993 when it made one triumphant return.
Main Street Dog 