Gregory Wendell McMurtry (born October 15, 1967) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

from 1986 to 1989. He caught 111 passes for 2,163 yards and 15 touchdowns for Michigan. He played in the NFL for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

from 1990 to 1993 and for the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

in 1994. He caught 128 passes for 1,631 yards in 67 NFL games.

Early life

McMurtry was born in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...

, in 1967. He attended

Brockton High School Brockton High School, established in 1870, is a high school located in Brockton, Massachusetts and a part of Brockton Public Schools. As of 2016, it is one of the largest high schools in the United States and the largest one in Massachusetts wi ...

Brockton, Massachusetts Brockton is a city in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States; the population was 105,643 at the 2020 United States census. Along with Plymouth, Massachusetts, Plymouth, it is one of the two county seats of Plymouth County, Massachusetts, ...

. McMurtry was an outstanding baseball and football player at Brockton High School. He was selected by the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

in the first round (14th overall pick) of the

1986 Major League Baseball Draft The 1986 Major League Baseball draft was the 22nd MLB draft that took place in 1986. During this draft 21 future all-stars were drafted: Greg Swindell, Matt Williams, Kevin Brown, Gary Sheffield, Roberto Hernández, Jack Armstrong, Dean Pal ...

, but turned down a six-figure signing bonus to attend the

on a football scholarship.

University of Michigan

McMurtry enrolled at the

in 1986 and played

for head coach

Bo Schembechler Glenn Edward "Bo" Schembechler Jr. ( ; April 1, 1929 – November 17, 2006) was an American college football player, coach, and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Miami University from 1963 to 1968 and at the Univers ...

Michigan Wolverines football The Michigan Wolverines football team represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the List of NCAA football teams by wins, most all-time wins in college football ...

teams from 1986 to 1989. He started five games at flanker in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

(22 catches for 508 yards), 12 games at split end in

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

(21 catches for 474 yards and five touchdowns), 10 games at split end in

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

(27 catches for 470 yards and three touchdowns), and 12 games at split end in

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

(41 catches for 711 yards and seven touchdowns). He played on three

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

championship teams and appeared in three

Rose Bowl Game The Rose Bowl Game is an annual American college football bowl game, traditionally played on January 1 (New Year's Day) at the Rose Bowl (stadium), Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. When New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the game is played on ...

s. He had his best game on November 18, 1989, with seven catches for 189 yards and three touchdowns against

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. In four years at Michigan, he caught 111 passes for 2,163 yards and 15 touchdowns.(to retrieve McMurtry's statistics, enter "mcmurtry" in the box for the player's last name)

Professional football

McMurtry was selected by the Patriots in the third round (80th overall pick) of the 1990 NFL draft. As a rookie during the

1990 NFL season The 1990 NFL season was the 71st regular season of the National Football League (NFL). To increase revenue, the league, for the first time since , reinstated bye weeks, so that all NFL teams would play their 16-game schedule over a 17-week peri ...

, McMurtry appeared in 13 games, five as a starter, and caught 22 passes for 240 yards. The following year, he enjoyed his best season in the NFL, catching 41 passes for 614 yards and two touchdowns. In Week 4 of the

1991 NFL season The 1991 NFL season was the 72nd regular season of the National Football League (NFL). It was the final season for coach Chuck Noll. The season ended with Super Bowl XXVI when the Washington Redskins defeated the Buffalo Bills, 37–24, at the ...

, he caught a game-winning touchdown pass from New England quarterback

Hugh Millen Hugh Breedlove Millen (born November 22, 1963) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Los Angeles Rams, Atlanta Falcons, New England Patriots, Dallas Cowboys and De ...

in the final minute against the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1960 Houston Oilers season, 1960 to 1996 Houston Oilers season, 1996. The Houston Oilers began play as a charter member of the Ame ...

. In June 1992, the Patriots re-signed McMurtry. During the

1992 NFL season The 1992 NFL season was the 73rd regular season of the National Football League (NFL). Due to the damage caused by Hurricane Andrew, the New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins game that was scheduled for September 6 at Joe Robbie Stadium was re ...

, McMurtry appeared in all 16 games for the Patriots, 15 as a starter, and caught 35 passes for 424 yards and one touchdown. In 1993, McMurtry's final season with the Patriots, he appeared in 14 games, eight as a starter, and caught 22 passes for 241 yards and a touchdown. McMurtry signed with the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

in 1994 but was released prior to the start of the regular season. He was signed by the

in August 1994. McMurtry appeared in nine games for the Bears, four as a starter, during the

1994 NFL season The 1994 NFL season was the 75th regular season of the National Football League (NFL). To honor the NFL's 75th season, a special anniversary logo was designed, and each player wore a patch on their jerseys with this logo throughout the season. ...

. He caught eight passes for 112 yards and one touchdown. During his five-year NFL career, McMurtry had 128 receptions for 1,631 yards and five touchdowns.

NFL career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McMurtry, Greg American football wide receivers New England Patriots players Chicago Bears players 1967 births Living people Players of American football from Brockton, Massachusetts Michigan Wolverines football players Players of American football from Jackson, Mississippi Brockton High School alumni

Early life

University of Michigan

Professional football

NFL career statistics

See also

References