Shrewsbury Town legend Chic Bates dies, aged 75
Shrewsbury Town legend Phil 'Chic' Bates has died, the club have announced.
Bates arrived as a forward from non-league Stourbridge in 1974 - starting a 50-year association with the club - and his 17 goals helped guide Salop to promotion from the Third Division in his first season.
He would leave for Swindon Town for a fee of £30,000 in 1977 and then moved on to Bristol Rovers, but returned to Shrewsbury for £20,000 in 1980 - where he would go from player to player-manager four years later when Graham Turner left for Aston Villa.
Bates led Town to their equal highest-ever finish - eighth in the Second Division - in the 1984/85 season, but would leave the club again in 1987.
However, he would be back again in 1999 as assistant manager and twice stepped in as caretake boss before retiring from football in 2004.
Living in Shropshire, Bates continued to watch Town in action and was inducted into the Shrewsbury Town Hall of Fame in 2013.
A statement from the club read: "The thoughts of everyone at Shrewsbury Town Football Club are with Chic’s family, friends, and loved ones during this difficult time."
