Son of woman dubbed 'Mrs Sheffield Wednesday' pays emotional tribute to 'witty, caring' mum

“The only thing she didn’t do was run the team and pick the team,” said Elaine’s son Darren. “All her life was Sheffield Wednesday, she was involved all her life…people knew her as Mrs Sheffield Wednesday, but I just knew her as mum.”

Elaine Murphy sadly passed away on New Years Eve and has been mourned by friends, family and football fans across the city and the footballing world.

She was a long-serving Sheffield Wednesday employee, working at the club for 40 years. The club described her as a ‘true SWFC legend' following her death.

Darren said: “There’s lots of comments on Facebook and even at the game against Cambridge with the minute’s applause, which was very emotional. I went down on the pitch with my daughter and it was amazing with the crowd.

“It’s unbelievable really the number of people who have messaged us with support who knew her, because to me she was just my mum. For me she was funny, witty, caring and wasn’t a person worried about money. She could listen to everybody’s troubles and she would give her opinion whether you liked it or not, but she was usually right.”

Elaine followed in the footsteps of her mother in working for Sheffield Wednesday, with the pair clocking up more than 80 years at the club between them. Darren said: “They had nearly 100 years of service, which, between a mother and daughter, I don’t think that will ever be replicated.

“For me, it’s therapy to talk about this. She was a friend for everybody. I was unfortunately the person that found her and, as the son, to find her on New Year’s Eve morning was not nice, but someone has to do it and I am glad it was me.”

Elaine’s passing was unexpected. Darren said it was a “massive shock for us and the team at Wednesday” and shared that she had cooked dinner on Christmas Day just days before. He said: “She enriched other people’s lives, just like mine and my daughter’s.”

Following her passing, Sheffield Wednesday announced they would be dedicating their league game against Peterborough United (March 4) to Elaine. Darren said the club told him it would be an event, called the “Elaine Murphy memorial game”. He said: “Football is much deeper than million dollar players.”