Early Life
Murray was born in Vulcan, Alberta, Canada to Allan and Isabelle Murray, and moved to nearby Okotoks in 1937, where he and his family have remained integral members of the community since. The Murray Arena in Okotoks is named in honour of the family's impact on the local sports scene, as Bearcat's father was a senior ice hockey player with the High River Flyers, and his mother a leader with the local curling club. Murray earned the nickname "Bearcat" from his father, who shared the same moniker.
Self-taught, Murray served first as the trainer of the Western Hockey League's Calgary Centennials and Wranglers, and later the World Hockey Association's Calgary Cowboys. He also spent some time as assistant trainer for the Canadian Football League's Calgary Stampeders.
Read more about this topic: Bearcat Murray
Famous quotes containing the words early and/or life:
“It was common practice for me to take my children with me whenever I went shopping, out for a walk in a white neighborhood, or just felt like going about in a white world. The reason was simple enough: if a black man is alone or with other black men, he is a threat to whites. But if he is with children, then he is harmless, adorable.”
—Gerald Early (20th century)
“You want to prepare your child to think as he gets older. You want him to be critical in his judgments. Teaching a child, by your example, that there’s never any room for negotiating or making choices in life may suggest that you expect blind obedience—but it won’t help him in the long run to be discriminating in choices and thinking.”
—Lawrence Balter (20th century)