Bob Murphey, a tobacco-chewing lawyer and volunteer fire chief in Nacogdoches, Texas, told stories, many on himself. Blawgletter remembers hearing him on the radio, telling tales as if a group of coffee-drinkers and idlers sat with him around a table at a drug store fountain. One story we recall:
People don’t know this, but I played for Vince Lombardi.
I went out for football at Nacogdoches High School. In those days, the practice field sat alongside a creek, so that particular location added high humidity to intense East Texas August heat.
The coach stood off to the side while the boys ran around on the field, throwing and catching and blocking and tackling. After watching me for awhile, coach called me over. He asked me my name.
“Bob Murphey, coach.”
“Are you a football player, son?”
“Why, yes, sir.”
“Well, if you’re a football player, my name is Vince Lombardi.”
And that’s how I came to play for Vince Lombardi.
Barry Barnett
