'His smile could light up a room' - tributes flood in for Shrewsbury legend Chic Bates

Salop confirmed the desperately sad news on Wednesday that Bates had passed away after a battle of more than 10 years with Alzheimer's. 

Bates joined Town in 1974, starting a 50-year association with the club as player, manager, coach and supporter. 

The Shropshire Star reached out to his old team-mate Bernie McNally, who played for Town from 1980-89 with Bates as a team-mate, and then as his boss. 

McNally said: "He had such an infectious smile, when he came into the room, it was so friendly, he could make you feel relaxed. 

"He was great for a young player to play alongside. I was 19 or 20 when I first came across him, and after eight or nine games, I looked up to him. He had the ability to arrive at the right time in the penalty box. 

"It puts a smile on my face that Chic could do that. He was such a calming influence. For me, he was good when he became the manager. 

"He was the one who suggested I should play for Northern Ireland. 

"I had never thought about it until that point, and then within a week or two, I came back and said I would like to do that - he planted the seed in my mind. 

"So really, I have him to thank for actually having an international career. 

"The thing that fans don't realise is that following on from Graham Turner, because he was a part of being with Graham anyway, he just kind of thought, there is nothing to fix here. 

"That takes a big man to admit. Training was always fun, you had a bit of a laugh and a joke, but if you lost on a Saturday, and it was a poor one, you knew you were going to get a bit of a rollicking. 

"You won't find anyone with a bad word to say about him. You would take what he said to you onboard, but you knew it came from a sincere heart."

Bates arrived at Town from Stourbridge and he made almost 300 league appearances in blue and amber across two spells. 

When Graham Turner left for Aston Villa, a decade after Bates first arrived, he took up the role as player-manager, and guided Shrews to their highest-ever league finish. He eventually left in 1987, but he went on to have other roles at the club. 

Since the announcement of his passing, the tributes have come flooding in. 

Dave Edwards, who came through the academy at Shrewsbury before going on to represent Wales, worked with Bates when he was first-team coach. 

Edwards was a Salop fan growing up, and meeting Bates, he said he got the balance right between being friendly and showing authority. 

He said: "I first came into contact with him on a personal level when I was at GCSE age, and Chic was coaching the under-18s.

"When I signed my scholarship, he was still around the club, and I became close with him, as you do with coaches. 

"He was very charismatic, and he had a great way with the aspiring younger pros. He was friendly enough that you felt comfortable with him, but then also, he had enough authority that you knew you were there, ready to learn. 

"He was a very good coach. He then had a lot to do with the first team just as I was getting in there. 

"He was the life and soul of the training session, he had this big wide smile, which could light up a room. 

"He had a very endearing personality. All the lads loved him. You would not find one of those players who has anything bad to say about him. 

"He was able to motivate, make things fun and be a top person to be around. 

"When you are in that football environment and there are highs and lows, it is important to have that type of person at the club. 

"I know he has been having to deal with this horrible illness for a long time, and it has been really tough for his family - it is a shame we have not been able to see more of him over the last 10 years.

"Sadly, this is what that illness does to people. 

"I am sure there will be a real fond day at the Croud Meadow where we can really remember his life in front of the fans.” 

As a fan, Shrewsbury’s supporter liaison officer Rogers Groves watched lots of Bates over the years. He loved his work rate and endeavour. 

And Groves described Bates as a ‘true gent’. 

"The word legend is used a lot,” he said. “But he certainly is a true legend of this football club - that is how I would describe him. 

"His time at the club was when we were playing at a good level. He was just a true gent. 

"He was a player who played with a lot of endeavour, a lot of honesty, and he did score a lot of goals for us.  

"It is such a shame, and my condolences to his family, because it is very sad. 

"It is almost a Roy of the Rovers type story with him coming from non-league. 

"He is the kind of player we are crying out for right now, someone we sign as a really good professional from that level who goes on to have a really good career elsewhere. 

"He did all of that, and then to manage us - he is just a legend of the club over a long period.”