An Okotoks celebrity has passed away.
Jim 'Bearcat' Murray, a beloved member of the community and the trainer of the 1989 Stanley Cup-winning Flames, died Tuesday morning at the age of 89.
"I just think Bearcat — boy, he'll be sorely missed around the community," said long-time friend Rob Laird. "He was just a living legend around here."
A member of the Okotoks Hall of Fame, the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and the Hockey Hall of Fame, Murray was the athletic trainer for the Calgary Flames from 1980 to 1996.
Born in Vulcan in 1933, Murray and his parents moved to Okotoks in 1937 where he would become an integral part of the community.
Laird said Murray will be remembered as a regular at baseball and hockey games and a guy that was always around to help.
"He was always there to give a hand for anybody that needed it," said Laird.
Rob Leatherdale, the volunteer co-ordinator for the Okotoks Oilers and a friend of many years to Murray, echoed the sentiment.
"He was always there with a smile and a story and a joke," said Leatherdale.
Murray always watched the games from his season ticket seat up in the corner, he added.
Leatherdale has fond memories of hitting the links with Murray and Oilers president Wayne Lauinger.
"Bearcat could still out-drive me," he laughed. "That doesn't say much, but he was a heck of a golfer and always just a pleasure to be with.
"We'll miss him."
The town's Murray Arena is named after the self-proclaimed "bald-headed little potlicker," his father Allan and mother Isabell for their contributions to local sports.
Allan played senior hockey with the High River Flyers while Isabell partook in local curling.
Murray got his start with the WHL's Calgary Centennials in his 30s — though they were known as the Calgary Wranglers at that time — before moving on to the Flames following their move from Atlanta.
His path to NHL stardom was chronicled in the 2021 biography, Bearcat Murray: From Ol' Potlicker to Calgary Flames Legend, which was co-authored by former Calgary Herald sports writer George Johnson. Flames favourite and Murray's friend Lanny McDonald wrote the book's foreword.
Laird said he hopes to see some further recognition of Murray in town following his passing, perhaps adding a "Home of Bearcat Murray" piece to the new Okotoks signs.
"That would be a good thing to honour him, I think," he said.
Leatherdale said it is likely the Oilers organization will do something to commemorate his contribution to the community.
"He was just a nice man, a lot of fun to be around," he said.
"It's going to be a loss for the community."
