The Name Game

From local historical figures to country crooners—here are a few names from Glendale’s history books

Glendale’s tradition of being the home to great visionaries is nothing new. Several Glendale residents have made their mark in the history books. As Glendale celebrates its birthday, we take a look at just a few of the city’s big names.

Country Music Legend Marty Robinson
Grammy award winner, Country Music Hall of Fame inductee,
14 No.1country music hits, Glendale resident

Country music legend Marty Robbins was a Glendale boy through and through before his music made him famous. Born Martin David Robinson, Robbins was not born into money. So, he earned a little pocket change by picking cotton in the cotton fields around Grand Avenue when he was a boy. In later years, while attending Glendale Union High School, he spent a good portion of his free time at the downtown Glendale pool hall or Upton’s Ice Cream Parlor. He later went on to be the first country singer to win a Grammy, had 14 No. 1 hits and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1983. But he never forgot his roots and stayed in touch with many of his Glendale friends even after he was rich and famous.

A Founding Father

Everyone is familiar with Glendale’s downtown Murphy Park, but not everyone is as familiar with the incredible man who is the park’s namesake. It could be said that W.J. Murphy single-handedly made Glendale a populated city with all the contributions he made. For starters, Murphy is recognized as the person who named Glendale. Murphy moved to Arizona in 1880 from Chicago to build a 44-mile canal so that water could reach what is now the northwest Valley. Against all odds, Murphy did just that. He also built Grand Avenue and created a trolley line from Phoenix to Glendale, providing the city with its first lines of transportation.

A Developer

Residential developer John F. Long is about as familiar a name in the Valley as vanilla ice cream is in an ice-cream store. Who would have guessed that he, too, is a Glendale boy who graduated from Glendale Union High School? Long is attributed with contributing to the explosive growth in the West Valley in the 1950s with his master-planned communities. But Long made much more significant contributions to the region than just housing. One such example was his donation of 240 acres to the city to build the Glendale Municipal Airport.