Ted Murphy rowed at the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games, winning a silver medal in the pair at Sydney, and finishing fifth with the eight at Atlanta. Murphy won a gold medal in the eight at the 1999 Pan American Games. He competed at the World Championships in 1993-95 and 1997, winning a silver medal in the coxed four in 1994 and a bronze medal in the pair in 1997. Murphy rowed in college at Dartmouth University and later became a member of the Dartmouth Crew Hall of Fame and the US Rowing Hall of Fame.
Murphy entered the financial industry, working in Marin County, California. He has worked as a financial planner and portfolio manager with The Cypress Group at UBS.