Jim Murray is a member of the Ronald McDonald House Charities Local Operations Advisory Council and past president of the International Advisory Board for the Ronald McDonald Houses. He is also president of Jim Murray Ltd., a sports promotion and marketing firm. Eagles Cheers, a pro football TV show that was introduced in the Philadelphia market, is among the Jim Murray Ltd. productions.Murray is a native of Philadelphia and a 1960 alumnus of Villanova University. He began his career in sports administration immediately after graduation with the Tidewater Tides of baseball’s Sally League.
After a stint of active duty with the Marine Corps Reserve, he returned to baseball as assistant general manager of the Atlanta Crackers, an affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. Murray left baseball in 1964 to enter the restaurant business first in Atlanta and later in Malibu. Two years later, he returned to a sports career as sports information director at Villanova.
During Murray’s more than nine years as general manager, he took the franchise from the NFL’s cellar to Super Bowl heights. In 1976, he and owner Leonard Tose hired Dick Vermeil as head coach. For four consecutive years, from 1978 through 1981, the Eagles made the NFL playoffs under Murray’s guidance. After the 1980 season, the Eagles played the Raiders in Super Bowl XV. It is the only Super Bowl appearance in the franchise’s history. He left the Eagles in 1983.
During his 14 years with the Eagles, Murray assumed leadership roles in a number of community projects. He helped start the very successful Eagles Fly for Leukemia campaign. He was a founder of the first Ronald McDonald House in Philadelphia and helped persuade many of his peers in the NFL to become involved in the unique Ronald McDonald House concept. The Ronald McDonald Houses provide temporary homes, at little or no cost, for the families of children undergoing treatment for various illnesses at nearby hospitals. Started in Philadelphia in 1974, there are now over 200 Ronald McDonald Houses worldwide
Murray and his wife, Dianne, have five children and three grandchildren. The Murrays reside in Rosemont, PA.