Llewellyn P. "Yo" Murphy (born May 11, 1973) is an American former professional

gridiron football Gridiron football ( ),"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica'' ...

player of multiple leagues. He was originally signed by the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL) as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

; 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 ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

. He has also coached.

Early life

Murphy played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

at Idaho Falls High School and graduated in 1989.

College career

Murphy played college football at the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho, United States. Established in 1889 and opened three years later, it was the state's sole university for 71 years, until 1963. The un ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. One of the top pass-catchers in Idaho history, he nabbed 140 receptions during his Vandal career and gained 2,267 yards through the air. Murphy's career receptions rank seventh in Idaho history, while his yards rank fourth and his 17 career receiving touchdowns are tied for fifth. His best year was as a senior in

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, when he was chosen first-team All-American by three publications, earned first-team All- Big Sky honors and Idaho Most Valuable Offensive Player honors. That season, he was second in Division I-AA with 68 grabs for 1,156 yards and nine touchdowns.

Professional career

BC Lions

In 1993, he was signed by the

where he won the 1994 Grey Cup.

Scottish Claymores

Between 1995 and 1999, he starred at WR for the Scottish Claymores of

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the List of developmental and minor sports leagues, developmental minor league of the Nati ...

. In 1996, he was named

World Bowl The World Bowl was the annual American football championship game of the World League of American Football, later called NFL Europe. The World Bowl was played each year from 1991 to 2007 (except 1993 and 1994). The first World Bowl was played ...

MVP.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

In 1999, he would play for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

as a wide receiver and on special teams.

Minnesota Vikings

Murphy also played for the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

of 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 ...

in 1999.

Las Vegas Outlaws

In 2001, Murphy played for the Las Vegas Outlaws of the XFL.

St. Louis Rams

Murphy signed with the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

of the NFL in 2001, where he went on to play in the

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

. He caught a pass during the drive of the game tying touchdown pass from Kurt Warner in a 20–17 loss in

Super Bowl XXXVI Super Bowl XXXVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion St. Louis Rams and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

Kansas City Chiefs

Murphy signed with the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

on December 17, 2002. He was inactive for one game before being released on December 27.

Ottawa Renegades

He signed with the

Ottawa Renegades The Ottawa Renegades were a Canadian Football League franchise based in Ottawa, Ontario founded in 2002, six years after the storied Ottawa Rough Riders folded. After four seasons, the Renegades franchise was suspended indefinitely by the league d ...

in 2003.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

He went undrafted in the 2006 CFL Dispersal Draft after the suspension of the Renegades' franchise, but signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in September 2006. He culminated his career as a member of the Riders'

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...

winning team in 2007.

Retirement

On November 28, 2007, it was announced that Murphy had retired from professional football. Murphy is the only player ever to play in the regular seasons of the CFL, NFL, XFL and NFL Europe, as well as the only player to suit up for the

and

championship games. Murphy is currently the co-owner of Performance Compound in

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

, and was married in November 2014.

References

External links

University of Idaho Athletics Hall of Fame
– Yo Murphy {{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Yo 1973 births Living people American football wide receivers Players of Canadian football from Idaho Canadian football wide receivers Idaho Vandals football players BC Lions players Scottish Claymores players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Minnesota Vikings players Las Vegas Outlaws (XFL) players St. Louis Rams players Kansas City Chiefs players Ottawa Renegades players 21st-century American sportsmen Saskatchewan Roughriders players World Bowl MVPs Players of American football from Idaho Players of American football from Los Angeles Players of Canadian football from Los Angeles American expatriate sportspeople in Scotland American expatriate players of American football