Pat Murphy

Eastwood and Christian Brothers Academy

Murphy was born in Syracuse, New York, and grew up in the city's Eastwood neighborhood. He played football, basketball, and baseball at Christian Brothers Academy, class of 1977, according to Syracuse.com reporting carried by Sports Illustrated. The school put him in its hall of fame in 2008 and later endowed its head baseball coaching job as the Pat Murphy '77 Head Baseball Coaching position. The Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame inducted him in November 2024.

His college years covered three schools. He played basketball at Le Moyne College, football and baseball at Bowling Green State University, and then transferred to Florida Atlantic University, where he played baseball in 1981 and 1982. AP credits him with 11 complete games there, and says he also caught and played the infield and outfield.

Salem, Sydney, and Tri-Cities

No team drafted him. He signed with the San Francisco Giants, hurt his shoulder, and was released without playing a game for them, AP reported. In 1983 he went 1-5 with a 5.50 ERA for the Padres' Class-A team in Salem, in six starts and 22 relief appearances. He played in Sydney, Australia, in 1984, then went 6-5 over 24 games for Tri-Cities in the Northwest League in 1985 and 1986, the second year as player-manager. He never played above A ball.

The coaching started during those same years: Maryville in Tennessee in 1983, two seasons as an assistant at Florida Atlantic, then head coach at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in California in 1986 and 1987. At the Division III schools he also helped coach football.

A Cold Call to Notre Dame

At 28 he talked his way into the Notre Dame job with a cold call to athletic director Gene Corrigan. The program had finished at .500 or below in each of the previous five years. In 1989 it won five straight games in its conference tournament and earned its first NCAA bid since 1970.

He stayed through 1994 and went 318-116-1. Among his players, besides Counsell, was outfielder Dan Peltier, who reached the majors for three seasons.

Arizona State and the 2010 NCAA Penalty

Murphy ran Arizona State from 1995 to 2009 and went 629-284-1. His teams reached four College World Series and lost the 1998 final to USC, 21-14. He picked up the nickname "Black Hat Pat" and, in 2000, managed the Netherlands at the Olympics. Counting Maryville and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, AP put his college total at exactly 1,000 wins.

The job ended during an NCAA investigation. AP says he resigned; Milwaukee Magazine says he was forced out, and that the violations included improper phone calls to recruits, which Murphy called minor and unintentional. In December 2010, according to AP, the NCAA gave him a one-year restriction on college coaching activities, saying he "failed to promote an atmosphere for compliance for his lack of oversight and disregard of NCAA rules."

"I was a college coach forever, and then I had this huge injustice happen, and I thought, why me?, and feel sorry for myself and all that. My ego was involved a great deal more than it should," he told AP.

From Eugene to the Padres Dugout

San Diego took him on as a special assistant in 2010. He then managed Class A Eugene in 2011 and 2012, Triple-A Tucson in 2013, and Triple-A El Paso in 2014 and 2015. By his own account to AP, he was raising a son by himself during those years.

When the Padres fired Bud Black in June 2015, Murphy became interim manager and went 42-54. The club hired Andy Green after the season. That October, Counsell brought him to Milwaukee.

The Check Game at American Family Field

Murphy introduced the Check Game in 2016, his first year as bench coach. Anyone caught in ego talk gets a check on a white board, and that includes players, staff, and owner Mark Attanasio.

On August 1, 2020, he had a heart attack during a workout at American Family Field and missed much of the pandemic-shortened season. He told AP that an ambulance driver asked about his next of kin, and that his answer was: "Bro, next of kin? I'm not going anywhere."

97 Wins and the 2029 Option

In his first season as manager the Brewers went 93-69 and won the Central again. In 2025 they won a franchise-record 97 games, the best record in the majors, and beat the Cubs in the Division Series. His record through 2025 was 190-134, a .586 winning percentage. He was National League Manager of the Year in both seasons, the first Brewers manager to win the award.

General manager Matt Arnold announced an extension on February 19, 2026. The club did not release terms. The Athletic reported a three-year contract with a club option for 2029, which MLB Trade Rumors described as reworking the last year of the old deal and adding two guaranteed seasons plus the option. "I don't want to be with any other organization ... I feel really connected. This is going on my 11th season. I feel like this is where I'm supposed to be," Murphy said, in remarks carried by AP.

October 28 in St. Petersburg

After a 103-win regular season, by CBS Sports' count, the Brewers beat the Tampa Bay Rays in five games in St. Petersburg, Florida, on October 28, 2026, for the first World Series title in the franchise's history. They lost twice that whole month: Game 3 of the Division Series against the Padres and Game 4 of the World Series. AP gave Murphy's age as 67, "a month shy of his 68th birthday," and noted that he could become the first person to win Manager of the Year in three straight seasons.

According to AP's profile that night, he has been married three times and has four children, a count Milwaukee Magazine also gave in 2023. His youngest children and their friends gather at his postgame news conferences. He has two Bruce Springsteen tattoos and has spoken with the singer on FaceTime. He refuses foul-line handshakes, which he calls "happy horse manure." "I'm not on social media, Twizzler or Instacart, whatever," he told AP.

He also told AP: "I don't know if I'm any good. I just know I have to get better. I know I'm under construction, and I've enjoyed the construction project. It feels like it never gets done, though."

Sources

• Pat Murphy leads Brewers to first World Series title
• Milwaukee Brewers win first World Series title
• Pat Murphy's ex-players say success hasn't surprised them
• Brewers extend manager Pat Murphy to multi-year deal
• Pat Murphy 101: What to Know About the Brewers' New Manager
• NL Manager of the Year has Central New York roots
• FAU Roots Run Deep as Pat Murphy Leads Milwaukee Brewers to the World Series
• Brewers announce Pat Murphy as 20th manager in franchise history
• How William Contreras, the MVP of this Brewers playoff run, is commanding the game from every angle - CBS Sports
• Brewers, Pat Murphy Agree To New Contract - MLB Trade Rumors