Last Saturday night a permanent fixture in the Rhino family passed away.
Murray W Bates had his hand in everything that is Rhinos, from net pusher, to the squeegee man, to assistant coach, to color commentator he did it all. Everyone associated with the Rhino family from fans to former players was in some way touched by Mur.
Everyone has a story about Mur.
He always did things his way, from bus trips, to his unique way of doing room checks, his “say it how it is” color commentating, he always did things Mur’s special way.
He had a special bond with each and every player, from 1 game to 100 games each player that has ever put on the orange and black has a Mur story. When he walked in to the locker room no matter how tough a practice, no matter how bad of a day the players were having he put a smile on each and every one of their faces every time he walked in.
He always made time to talk for advice or just to lend an ear; coffee breaks with Mur lasted at least 2 to 3 hours.
Rhino home games will never be the same, even now we think you are going to walk through the door with a handful of cookies and give us a Mur wise crack
He truly bled orange and black, he saw it all and left his mark on everything Rhinos.
You will truly be missed Mur, and it was an honor to have known you and to have you associated with the Rhinos.
