The 2025 Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame class is going to have some Niagara County flavor.
Among those being inducted are Lockport native and former Buffalo Bills play-by-play man John Murphy. Also being inducted is Niagara Falls High School great and NFL running back James Starks.
Murphy, a graduate of DeSales in Lockport, started his career in the city for WLVL radio. He then switched to WBEN, where he was the sports director from 1984-1992, while being the color analyst for the Bills from 1984-1989, when WBEN lost broadcast rights.
In 1989, Murphy became the sports anchor for WKBW-TV, succeeding Rick Azar and then took over for Bob Koshinski as the sports director in 1992. Murphy left WKBW in 2007 and became WIVB’s sports director until 2012, when he became a full-time employee for the Bills.
Murphy regained his role as color analyst for the Bills in 1994, serving in the position until play-by-play legend Van Miller retired in 2003. He was the play-by-play announcer until suffering a stroke late in the 2023 season and officially retired in May 2024.
In May 2019, Murphy was inducted in the Buffalo Broadcaster’s Association Hall of Fame and received the Dick Gallagher Legacy Award from the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 2022. Murphy also released a book in 2023 titled, If These Walls Could Talk: Buffalo Bills: Stories from the Buffalo Bills Sideline, Locker Room, and Press Box.
Starks was an All-Western New York selection after running for 1,048 yards and throwing for over 600 as a quarterback at Niagara Falls. He went to the University at Buffalo and was the school’s all-time rushing leader (3,140 yards) when he left in 2009.
A sixth-round pick of the Green Bay Packers in 2010, Starks played seven seasons in the NFL. He ran for 2,506 yards and scored 15 total touchdowns, winning a Super Bowl championship with the Packers as a rookie.
After a car crash ended his NFL career, Starks earned a master’s degree from Drexel in construction management and a certification in green and sustainable building. He now works in real estate in Texas.
Clar Anderson, an Olean native, who came an NCAA wrestling champion and Duke head coach, former Buffalo Bisons general manager Mike Buczkowski, Buffalo boxer Joey Giambra, two-time Professional Bowling Association champion Jack Jurek, 1980 Philadelphia Phillies World Series general manager Paul Owens, Nichols School hockey start Meaghan Sittler, former Boston College and Clarence basketball star Kathy Sweet and two-time Olympic skier Jillian Vogtli are also set to be inducted.
The Kenmore West football teams from 1967-1969 will be the Hall’s team of distinction.
The 2025 class will be formally introduced during a press conference at 4 p.m. June 11 at Dave and Adam’s Card World on Sheridan Drive in Amherst.