Bills play-by-play man John Murphy looks back in Lockport with his new book
Oct. 17—After nearly four decades of standing in the locker room, the sidelines and in the press box, the longtime voice of the Buffalo Bills has been presented with a rare opportunity to look back.
John Murphy, Bills play-by-play announcer and Lockport native, made the trip back to his hometown to share those decades of memories and sign copies of his new book, "If These Walls Could Talk: Buffalo Bills: Stories from the Buffalo Bills Sideline, Locker Room, and Press Box," in a place that helped start his career.
While Murphy's appearances have been seldom since he had a stroke last year, he said he's feeling good these days. Murphy was joined by fans, friends and family on Tuesday night at Danny Sheehan's Steakhouse on West Avenue.
While the restaurant may seem like an unlikely venue, Murphy's connections to the longtime Lockport staple run deep.
Murphy looked back fondly at his time growing up in Lockport, covering DeSales basketball games and working at the restaurant. He worked at Danny Sheehan's for two years while he was a college student and simultaneously broadcasted high school sports for WLVL-AM on weekends.
"Tending bar afforded me to work in radio when I wasn't getting paid there," Murphy told the Union-Sun & Journal.
Murphy's fandom for sports, particularly the Bills, had been well established since he saw the team play in the 1967 AFL Championship game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
He said it was ultimately some words of encouragement from Mike Ennis, his former co-worker and now the owner of Danny Sheehan's, that made him decide to pursue his passions for sports and broadcasting further.
"He convinced me to switch over to sports and I did," he recalled.
In 1984, Murphy launched his broadcasting career with WBEN-AM before moving around town to other stations including WKBW-TV, WIVB-TV and WGR-AM.
While he has done his fair share on both sides of the anchors' desk, Murphy said nothing compares to calling a Bills game on the radio.
"You lose yourself in the game," Murphy said.
Throughout his book, Murphy recalls the instances in which he got lost in the game and his experiences covering the Bills during the highs of the Super Bowl years, the early 1990s, through the infamous 17-year playoff drought that followed.
"I was the voice of the drought," Murphy joked.
While Murphy hasn't called a game since the Bills win over the Chicago Bears last Christmas Eve, he still regularly attends the Bills' home games and closely follows the team, albeit in a different capacity.
"I miss doing the games, but now I have a different outlook on it," he said.
