James W. Murphy, St. Louis’ longest-serving sheriff and a former soccer star, has died at 88.
Murphy took office in 1989 after being elected sheriff, starting a 27-year tenure that included a term as president of the Missouri Sheriffs' Association.
Before his work in the sheriff’s office, Murphy served as the Democratic committeeman in St. Louis’ 12th Ward for decades and was twice elected to the Missouri Senate, in 1976 and ‘80, representing the state’s 1st District.
His peers in politics remembered Murphy as a hard-working public servant.
“You hear the old saying that everything is local. He was a firm believer in that,” said Gregory F.X. Daly, St. Louis’ longtime revenue collector. “When people called him and asked for help — whether that be with a pothole, whether that be for jury duty, whether that be for whatever the circumstances were — he was one of those kind of politicians who believed in servicing his constituents.”
Daly said Murphy was more than willing to help mentor him and journey into politics after returning to St. Louis from college in the mid-1970s, eventually landing Daly a job working with the Board of Aldermen.
Controversy at the sheriff’s office
The sheriff’s office faced scrutiny for its staff’s lower-than-average success rate in serving papers. An audit in the early 2000s found the office had also opened secret bank accounts and wrongfully spent taxpayer money.
In 2012, a lawsuit alleging race discrimination and retaliation within the sheriff's department led to a jury awarding hundreds of thousands of dollars in punitive damages and attorneys fees to two Black deputy sheriffs. The jury concluded that Murphy, who is white, had a weak response when a supervisor in his department hung a noose in the courthouse in 2006.
The controversies weren’t enough to break his support from a majority of voters, who consistently sent Murphy back to the office until he decided to not seek re-election in 2016. Voters that year elected former Sheriff’s Deputy Vernon Betts. Murphy fired Betts in 2012 for violating a department policy Murphy issued that barred sheriff’s deputies from actively campaigning for office. Murphy later lifted the ban.
Despite the issues he faced in office, the former sheriff and legislator was lauded for serving his constituents.
“Sheriff Jim Murphy was more than just a law enforcement officer — he was a mentor, a man of integrity, and a steadfast advocate for the people he served,” wrote Tony Kirchner, a former deputy sheriff and a current aldermanic candidate whom Murphy hired over a decade ago. “He taught me that wearing the badge wasn’t just about enforcing the law — it was about protecting people, serving with compassion, and always striving to do what’s right, even when it’s not easy.”
Accomplishments on the pitch
Before his career in public service, Murphy played for the St. Louis Kutis Soccer Club, an amateur team that dominated locally and nationally in the mid-1950s.
The team won the U.S. Open Cup twice during Murphy’s tenure and was so good that the then-U.S. Soccer Federation selected it to play as the U.S. men’s national team (with a few team guest additions) in two 1958 World Cup qualifying matchups. He was inducted into the St. Louis Soccer Hall of Fame in 1989.
Murphy was a parishioner of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in the city’s Boulevard Heights neighborhood.
“He was a good man,” Daly said. “He was a good politician, and he was good for the City of St. Louis.”
Murphy is survived by Marilyn, his wife of 65 years, his children Tim, Jim, Robert, Barbara and Margaret, as well as many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be at Kutis Affton Chapel on Wednesday from 3-8 p.m. and at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church on Thursday from 9-10 a.m. Funeral Mass will be held at the church on Thursday at 10 a.m. before internment at Resurrection Cemetery.
In place of flowers, the family asks memorials be made to the American Diabetes Association.
