His work in scouting became his “springboard into the ministry,” says the Rev. Louis M. Murphy Sr.
BY ANDREW CAPLAN
NNB Student Reporter
ST. PETERSBURG – When Louis Murphy Jr. was 6, he told his father he didn’t want to join the Boy Scouts because it was for white kids.
His dad, an executive for the Boy Scouts of America, was startled. But when he saw how bedraggled his black scouts looked with their makeshift uniforms and camping equipment, he took action, tirelessly raising money, recruiting boys to join and cajoling adults to help.
It paid off, said Louis M. Murphy Sr. When he left his scouting job four years later, the region had grown from 15 to 20 black scouts to more than 500.
One of them was his son, now 28, who eventually became an Eagle Scout, scouting’s highest rank. Murphy Jr. also starred in football at Lakewood High School and the University of Florida before moving to the National Football League, where he plays wide receiver for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The scouting experience was pivotal for his father, too. Because it forced him to refocus his life and help others, Louis M. Murphy Sr. said, scouting became his “springboard into the ministry” and his job as senior pastor at Mt. Zion Progressive Missionary Baptist Church.
“The Boy Scouts was like a ministry in itself, helping inner-city youths do something positive with their lives, to develop values, morals (and) skills … so they can be productive citizens,” said Murphy, 56.
Mt. Zion, which claims the largest African-American congregation in St. Petersburg, makes children and teenagers a key focus of its ministry.
At its sprawling campus at 955 20th St. S, it offers day care, pre-kindergarten, a school for grades K through five, and free after-school tutoring for grades K though eight. It offers a summer camp, sponsors Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, and runs a drumline and color guard for ages 7 through 21.
Mt. Zion also counsels unmarried couples during pregnancy, in the hope that fathers-to-be will stay involved in their children’s lives.
Murphy Sr. said he knows what it’s like to grow up without a father. His dad left after his parents divorced when he was 8. He made mistakes early in life, the pastor said, and he was just as hard-headed as some of the children he mentors today.
He said he tried to use his own experiences to help guide his son through college and now in the pros. And he uses the example of his son to show what young people can achieve with the right values and adult leadership.
Murphy Jr. is one of the few professional football players who is an Eagle Scout, a distinction that makes his dad proud.
Louis Jr. “is a devout Christian,” Murphy Sr. said. “Is he a saint or perfect? Nope. (But) he’s a believer, absolutely.”
Fathers can play a key role in their sons’ lives, says Murphy.
Murphy Sr. said he remembers coaching youth football and being on the sidelines during his son’s years as a Florida Gator. Most of the players were black, he said, but the percentage of involved fathers was minuscule.
The role of fathers is “critical, man, it’s absolutely critical,” Murphy Sr. said. “And that’s why we try to get the fathers to stay involved. L.J. (Louis Jr.) screwed up sometimes, but I was right there to catch his behind and make him do the right thing.”
Before the 2009 NFL draft, Murphy Sr. said, he bought a Bucs license plate that read “LJ2B” – for “Louis Jr. to be a Buccaneer.”
“When he was a junior in college at the University of Florida, it was my vision that he would be with the Bucs,” Murphy Sr. said.
Instead, the Oakland Raiders selected the UF graduate in the fourth round, 124th overall. But after three seasons, Murphy Jr.’s playing time decreased and he became a free agent.
In 2014, just as his father once predicted, the Bucs signed Murphy Jr., then released him before the season opener.
He had offers to join Cincinnati and Chicago, his father said, but he urged him to wait. He had a feeling the Bucs would re-sign him.
And on Sept. 23, 2014, they did.
On the final drive of his first regular-season game as a Buc, Murphy Jr. caught a 41-yard pass that led to the game-winning touchdown over the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was signed to a three-year extension at the end of the season.
To honor his mother Filomena, who passed away in 2008, Murphy Jr. started an organization, 1st Downs for Life, to help teach children fundamental football and cheerleading skills and life lessons.
“I guess sometimes it’s a test of your faith, and sometimes you have to go through things and it really makes you stronger, makes you better,” Murphy Sr. said.
On May 20, when the Mt. Zion congregation honored him on his 16-year anniversary as pastor, his son was there.
Murphy Sr. is unable to attend Buccaneer home games because of the church’s Sunday services, but he said he records every game and prefers watching at home, where he can follow the games more closely.
He also has a new license plate – “LJIS.” It stands for “Louis Jr. is a Buccaneer.”