The Crimson Tide's longtime softball head coach celebrates his 57th birthday on Monday.

Alabama softball has been a dominant force in the world of women's sports since the program's inaugural season in 1997 and most of that success can be accredited to head coach Patrick Murphy. Here is a look back at Murphy's highly successful career in Rhoads Stadium.

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Coach Murphy started his career in Tuscaloosa as an assistant coach for the Tide in 1997 where he worked alongside Alabama softball's only other head coach Kalum Haack. While Haack had a short tenure as the head coach, the team made it to the SEC Tournament in both of the seasons that he was there and won it in 1998. After Haack stepped down as the head coach for personal reasons, Murphy took over the position in 1999.

The success at Alabama continued with the softball program finishing the 1999 season with a 39-26 record. Murphy's first season as head coach ended with the Crimson Tide making their first trip to the NCAA Regional, where they went 0-2. The following season saw Murphy and the Tide finishing with a 66-14 record, making it past the NCAA Regional before being eliminated in their first Women's College World Series.

Murphy won his first SEC Tournament Championship as head coach in 2003 followed by his second in 2005. Murphy saw appearences in the Women's College World Series for the entire second half of the decade. The Tide won its 3rd SEC Championship under Murphy in 2010.

In 2012 Alabama softball won another SEC Championship, as well as its first and only national championship against the Oklahoma Sooners in a thrilling three-game series. His last SEC Tournament Championship as of now was won in 2021. Murphy and the Tide were titled the SEC Regular-Season Champions six times.

Murphy and his fellow coaching staff have been named the NFCA South Region Coaching Staff of the Year ten times being in 2000, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, and 2016. Murphy was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame as one of the eight members in the class of 2022. He is the only person to ever be inducted for softball.

Coach Murphy is regularly praised for his strong recruiting ability and the family-like bond that he creates with the Alabama softball fanbase and his players. For that and the success that he has brought to the program, the city of Tuscaloosa is eternally grateful as we wish him a happy 57th birthday.

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