GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The Green Bay Packers’ longtime president and CEO Mark Murphy was inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame Thursday night.
“For the Packers, this is the very best organization, I think. Not only in the NFL, but in all of professional sports. And to be inducted into the Hall of Fame here is extremely humbling,” said Murphy.
Murphy joined the Packers in 2008, when his youngest daughter was still in high school.
“She came up to me and said, ‘Dad, the Packers! That’s a great opportunity. You have to take that job.’ And it’s like no other kid, you know. When you’re a junior and your friends, and you’re leaving [them]. With her blessing, we accepted the position,” said Murphy.
Although his tenure didn’t exactly start out smoothly.
“People would come up to her, because it was in the middle of the Brett Favre controversy. People would come up to her and be like, ‘Your dad has only been here a week and he’s already ruining the organization, he’s kicking out our Hall of Fame quarterback,’” recalled Brian Murphy, Mark’s son.
But over time, Packers fans came to love Murphy, and he showed that love back to them in return.
“He just seemed like he fit so well into the culture and the community of Green Bay. I mean, that kind of like humble upbringing, like the obsession with the fan experience was so important to him,” said Brian.
“I felt it’s important as an athletic director to be visible and available to fans, so that’s something that I have done at all the different stops that I’ve had,” said Murphy.
During his time as leader of the Pack, Murphy was responsible for many renovations to Lambeau Field, as well as creating the Titletown District.
His final and biggest contribution was to bring the NFL Draft to Green Bay.
“Adding the modern amenities that fans expect when they come to NFL games, without taking away what makes Lambeau Field special, I think we kind of balanced that well. And then, you know, I think Titletown is something that I’m really proud of,” said Murphy.
“What that has become and the fact that there’s almost one million fans that go to Titletown every single year, and the kind of foresight and investment that you put into that place. Those are memories that are going to last those families a lifetime,” said Brian.
Murphy’s legacy is now immortalized, among other NFL greats, in the Packers Hall of Fame.
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