He arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of fifteen when he first linked up with the Tipperary minor team before later joining the junior side.
He missed out on the chance of winning a Dr. Harty Cup medal because the harsh economic realities of the time resulted in him leaving school to find work.
He won his first Munster medal on the field if play that year as Tipperary claimed a sixth successive provincial championship following a 3-8 to 1-4 defeat of Limerick.
[citation needed] Tipperary bounced back in 1964 with Murphy collecting a National Hurling League medal following a 4-16 to 6-6 defeat of New York.
Tipperary later cantered casually past Cork by fourteen points in the provincial decider, giving Murphy, who was captain of the team, a Munster medal.
John "Mackey" McKenna scored Tipp's first goal after ten minutes as the Munster champions took a 1-8 to 0-6 interval lead.
Later that same year Murphy sustained a serious injury in a club game against Roscrea when he fell awkwardly and damaged his knee cartilage.