His mother, a native of Magherafelt, County Londonderry, was a teacher and his father ran a grocery shop and pub.
That year he played on a Roscommon team that defeated Limerick in the All-Ireland junior football semi-final, only to lose to Dublin in the final.
The stock of Roscommon football was on the rise and more experienced players like Jimmy Murray, Dr Donal Keenan (later to serve as president of the GAA), Owensie Hoare and Hugh Gibbons looked forward to the arrival on the senior team of the young players who won All-Ireland minor titles for the county in 1939 and 1941.
His brother Phelim also played on that team, and again in 1944, when Roscommon defeated the traditional powerhouses of the game, Kerry, to add a second title.
In 1946, Roscommon came tantalisingly close to adding a third title, however, in the All-Ireland final against Kerry, Murray sustained a broken nose, but came back on to the field to almost score a late winning point.
As a Gaelic footballer, Jimmy Murray was a stylish and tenacious centre forward who made little of his relatively small stature to thrive in an era when physical strength was celebrated.
He had outstanding leadership qualities, and even today his name is cited in Roscommon and national Gaelic Athletic Association circles as a man to be emulated.
The other seven captains are Declan O'Sullivan and Joe Barrett of Kerry, J. J. O'Reilly of Cavan, Seán Flanagan of Mayo, Enda Colleran of Galway, Tony Hanahoe of Dublin and Brian Dooher of Tyrone.