John Murphy, former Century Group sports editor died unexpectedly Nov. 29, at the age of 69.

Murphy was a Highland resident and known throughout the region as a sportswriter extraordinaire. While working for Century Group newspapers, Murphy received three major awards at the 66th annual Los Angeles Press Club Southern California Journalism Awards on June 23, 2024, at the LA Millennium Biltmore Hotel.

Murphy received second place for a personality profile, “Kris Steven’s hard road from Fontana to Yucaipa.” In addition, he earned third place in the columns division for his “Press row” column.

Murphy also earned the coveted Sports Journalist of the Year award.

The judge for the Sports Journalist of the Year category commented on his talent. “With a knack for finding non-famous athletes who make a difference in the lives of others, Murphy writes excellent, memorable pieces as a sports journalist.”

Murphy was the sports editor for The Redlands Community News, Yucaipa Calimesa News Mirror and the Record Gazette for several years.

David James Heiss was the former editor of the Redlands Community News.

“John was prolific and enthusiastic as a sportswriter,” Heiss said. “While we interacted via messages and a rare phone call, in the year or so that I worked with him, I never got to meet him. He was part of the esoteric world of sports coverage, whose days tended to be evenings and weekends. His is a unique genre of writing that takes a special individual to do. Every media outlet that relied so heavily on his content was truly fortunate to have been associated with his insight and dedication to the task he was so passionate about.”

Redlands East Valley Coach Michael Reiter concurred.

John Murphy’s first love was football.

However, over the years of writing about girls volleyball, he enjoyed the game and always promoted girls’ sports. He followed Redlands High School Girls Varsity Volleyball in the Redlands Community News in his “Season of the Terriers” series in 2023. He came to all three of the team’s media days. He even covered summer league and came to an end of the year awards ceremony.”

Murphy was born Jan. 5, 1956, in San Francisco and raised in San Bruno by his parents, James and Catherine Murphy.

According to his obituary, Murphy graduated from Serra High School and later earned a bachelor’s degree from San Francisco State University. While in college, he worked as a stringer for the San Mateo Times, covering high school sports on the Peninsula. He also served as a playground leader and mentor at John Muir School through San Bruno Recreation, where he earned a local PTA award. It was there that he organized a basketball team that went undefeated, conquering most of the local public and private schools, as well as some of the best teams in San Francisco.

After graduation, Murphy became sports editor of the Watsonville Register-Pajaronian, where he worked for 11 years. He worked at newspapers in Oregon, Pacifica, Half Moon Bay, Victorville, San Bernardino, Yucaipa, Banning, Beaumont and Redlands.

A funeral Mass is scheduled for 10 a.m. Dec. 19 at Our Lady of Angels Catholic Church in Burlingame. A private family burial will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery. Reception details will be announced at the Mass.