Finding Murph : how Joe Murphy went from winning a championship to living homeless in the bush / Rick Westhead.

Finding Murph : how Joe Murphy went from winning a championship to living homeless in the bush / Rick Westhead.

By
Westhead, Rick.

Publication Date
2020

Publication Information
Toronto : HarperCollins Publishers,

Physical Description
344p., [16] p. of plates.

Subject Term
Hockey players -- Canada -- Biography.
 
Brain -- Wounds and injuries -- Patients -- Biography.

Bibliography Note
Includes bibliographical references.

Summary
Joe Murphy had it all. In 1986, he became the first college-educated hockey player selected first overall in the NHL entry draft. He won a Stanley Cup in Edmonton alongside Mark Messier four years later. But since then, his life has taken a tragic turn, largely due to the untreated brain injuries he suffered as a player. Murphy's life didn't begin on a track that would take him to homelessness and substance abuse. He was smart, dedicated to hockey, and he wasn't afraid to chart his own course. Murphy once scored eighty-two points in a season and was a key player for the Oilers, Red Wings and Blackhawks, among other teams. But one vicious body check during a game changed his life forever. Despite being shaken by the hit, Murphy was cleared to return to the game. Soon after, his entire life seemed to change. Murphy became a journeyman, moving from team to team. Along the way, other NHLers said they noticed something different about him too. Murphy wasn't acting like himself. He was using drugs and alcohol and soon found himself out of the NHL entirely. Eventually, Murphy became homeless. In the spring of 2018, Murphy made his way to Kenora, Ontario, where he lived in the bush, spending his days outside a local convenience store, muttering to himself and taking handouts of food and drinks from passersby. The player who had once set the NHL aflame now slept by the side of the road in the unforgiving North. In Finding Murph, Rick Westhead traces the tragic true story of Joe Murphy and examines the role of the NHL in the downward spiral of one of the league's most promising players.

Language
English

ISBN
9781443458917


LibraryCollectionCollectionCall NumberStatus
Bishop's Falls (CBF)Adult NFicAdult Non-Fiction796.962 W52Checked In
Corner Brook (WCB)Adult NFicAdult Non-Fiction796.962 W52Checked In
Daniel's Harbour (WDH)Adult NFicAdult Non-Fiction796.962 W52Transit Request
Garnish (BGH)Adult NFicAdult Non-Fiction796.962 W52Checked In
Harbour Grace (AHG)ADULT NFIC - DISPLAYAdult Non-Fiction Display796.962 W52Checked In
St. John's - A.C. Hunter (SJH)Adult NFicAdult Non-Fiction796.962 W52Checked In