THE daughter of rugby league great, Alex Murphy, has pleaded for the return of her father’s five Challenge Cup winners’ medals following his dementia diagnosis.
Murphy made over 500 appearances for St Helens, Warrington and Leigh from the 1950s to the 1970s, and became the first ever player to lift the Challenge Cup with three different sides.
Among his glittering career, the 85-year-old also earned 27 Great Britain caps before trying his hand at coaching with the likes of Saints, Wigan and Huddersfield.
However, his daughter, Ann Byrne, revealed the sad news on Facebook that Murphy has been diagnosed with vascular dementia and that five winners medals are no longer at his home.
She wrote: “My dad is Alex Murphy, former Saints, Leigh, Warrington and Great Britain. Sadly, following my mum’s death in the summer, dad was diagnosed with vascular dementia.
“When I was with him at Christmas I saw that all of his rugby league medals were gone; I can’t explain how this makes me feel – I’m saddened and in total disbelief that people will take advantage of a mentally ill man in his 80s. Dad hasn’t sold these medals (not to my knowledge), he’s given them away to people he meets in The Glass Horse in St Helens.
“If you happen to hear of anything with rugby stuff belonging to my dad, can you drop me a line please – I would love to get his medals back and would prefer them to be in the Hall of Fame museum [rather] than putting money in the pockets of random people who are taking advantage of a vulnerable old man.
“Not many people could proudly say, “My dad has five Wembley winners medals,”…sadly, I can’t say that any longer either.”
