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Jimmy Murphy (racing driver)
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Jimmy Murphy (racing driver)
James Anthony Murphy (September 12, 1894 – September 15, 1924) was an American racing driver who won the 1921 French Grand Prix, the 1922 Indianapolis 500, and the American Racing Championship in 1922 and 1924.
Murphy was born in San Francisco, California, on Minna Street, between 7th and 8th, in September 1894. His father was an immigrant from County Wexford, Ireland and his mother was an immigrant from County Mayo, Ireland and owned a fuel and feed store which fronted on Mission Street behind the family home on Minna. This area of San Francisco was called "South of the Slot" by locals in those days, and comprised a sprawling ghetto of mostly Irish immigrants and their children who made up the majority of the local labor force.
Murphy's mother Margaret died in Needles, CA in 1897 when Jimmy was 3 years old . Murphy's father Mathew died in Jul 1906 in San Francisco, a couple of months after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Jimmy was then an orphan and became in the care of his paternal uncle James Murphy in San Francisco. Jimmy's first cousin was 1906 San Francisco firefighter Battalion Chief Tom J. Murphy (later to become San Francisco's assistant fire chief 1925 and recognized as one of the pioneers of modern firefighting in San Francisco).
Murphy lived with his paternal uncle James and wife Annie in their home in San Francisco until late 1907, when Murphy's maternal aunt, Mary Moran and her husband, Judge Martin O'Donnell of Vernon, California, sent for Jimmy to come live with them.
In Southern California Murphy attended Huntington Park High School and commuted to and from school on a motorcycle given him by Judge O'Donnell. He became an expert rider and mechanic and, a few months short of graduation, opened a garage with a friend, developing a clientele of motorcycle and automobile owners from the Los Angeles area.
Murphy began his racing career as a riding mechanic, back in the days when racing cars carried a driver and a "mechanician." He rode in winning driver Eddie O'Donnell's Duesenberg at the 1916 Corona road race, their car achieving an average speed of 85 miles per hour (137 km/h), a truly terrifying speed for those early days.
Murphy rode with some of America's greatest drivers of the time, including Ralph DePalma, Harry Hartz, Eddie Rickenbacker, Peter DePaolo and Tommy Milton.
After the war, Murphy's career as a driver was spotted, but he showed promise to those who knew "the racing game." Through the influence of Duesenberg's Number One driver, Tommy Milton, Murphy was given a factory car to drive in the inaugural race at the Beverly Hills Speedway, a superfast, 1.125-mile (1.811 km) high banked, wooden speedway. To everyone (except Milton's) surprise, Murphy won that February 14, 1920 race. He went on to win regularly and became a popular champion on the circuit.
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Jimmy Murphy (racing driver)
James Anthony Murphy (September 12, 1894 – September 15, 1924) was an American racing driver who won the 1921 French Grand Prix, the 1922 Indianapolis 500, and the American Racing Championship in 1922 and 1924.
Murphy was born in San Francisco, California, on Minna Street, between 7th and 8th, in September 1894. His father was an immigrant from County Wexford, Ireland and his mother was an immigrant from County Mayo, Ireland and owned a fuel and feed store which fronted on Mission Street behind the family home on Minna. This area of San Francisco was called "South of the Slot" by locals in those days, and comprised a sprawling ghetto of mostly Irish immigrants and their children who made up the majority of the local labor force.
Murphy's mother Margaret died in Needles, CA in 1897 when Jimmy was 3 years old . Murphy's father Mathew died in Jul 1906 in San Francisco, a couple of months after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Jimmy was then an orphan and became in the care of his paternal uncle James Murphy in San Francisco. Jimmy's first cousin was 1906 San Francisco firefighter Battalion Chief Tom J. Murphy (later to become San Francisco's assistant fire chief 1925 and recognized as one of the pioneers of modern firefighting in San Francisco).
Murphy lived with his paternal uncle James and wife Annie in their home in San Francisco until late 1907, when Murphy's maternal aunt, Mary Moran and her husband, Judge Martin O'Donnell of Vernon, California, sent for Jimmy to come live with them.
In Southern California Murphy attended Huntington Park High School and commuted to and from school on a motorcycle given him by Judge O'Donnell. He became an expert rider and mechanic and, a few months short of graduation, opened a garage with a friend, developing a clientele of motorcycle and automobile owners from the Los Angeles area.
Murphy began his racing career as a riding mechanic, back in the days when racing cars carried a driver and a "mechanician." He rode in winning driver Eddie O'Donnell's Duesenberg at the 1916 Corona road race, their car achieving an average speed of 85 miles per hour (137 km/h), a truly terrifying speed for those early days.
Murphy rode with some of America's greatest drivers of the time, including Ralph DePalma, Harry Hartz, Eddie Rickenbacker, Peter DePaolo and Tommy Milton.
After the war, Murphy's career as a driver was spotted, but he showed promise to those who knew "the racing game." Through the influence of Duesenberg's Number One driver, Tommy Milton, Murphy was given a factory car to drive in the inaugural race at the Beverly Hills Speedway, a superfast, 1.125-mile (1.811 km) high banked, wooden speedway. To everyone (except Milton's) surprise, Murphy won that February 14, 1920 race. He went on to win regularly and became a popular champion on the circuit.
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