Vale Ron Murray aka @LeetoRainestoRoach

[The Big Richo]

This is a very difficult post to write.

It is with much sadness we inform PRE of what we believe to be the sudden passing of one of our prominent posters, @LeeToRainesToRoach

The nature of an anonymous forum means these things are very difficult to confirm, however after much work behind the scenes we are confident enough to share the news with the PRE community.

'Lee' (who we understand posted on Bigfooty as Ron the Bear'), contributed over 33,000 posts to this forum and was well regarded for being a font of information when it came to the statistical side of the game. Lee was the go to for many of us anytime we wanted to know how a stat was tracking in the game, and Lee never failed to produce the goods.

Lee was also well known for his strong political views, on climate change and most other topics, and he was involved in many robust discussions with PREnders in these areas, sometimes heated, but I always had the feeling he enjoyed the back and forth as much as those who engaged him did.

We have all shared the journey through the pandemic together and Lee often noted the measures he was taking to maintain his health during these times, making his sudden passing, in what I understand was his early 50s, all the sadder.

We can all take some solace in the fact that Lee was as passionate a Tiger as any of us and he will have taken great joy in witnessing our success over the past few years.

His passing will leave a great hole in this forum, and I'm sure will be keenly felt by many members. Please don't hesitate to reach out should you need to.

On behalf of @Mr T. , the moderation team and all members of PRE, I extend our deepest condolences to all of Lee's family and friends. May he rest in peace.

Vale LeetoRainestoRoach.

 

[Midsy]

I’m seriously gutted and I have know idea who he was.

I liked the fact he stood his ground and wouldn’t be intimidated, and I often agreed with his less popular opinions.

Also called on him for various statistical queries, for which he always had an answer.

I’ll actually miss him being on here a lot. It’s a sad day.

Condolences to family and friends who have lost what seemed like a nice guy.

 

[tigertim]

Yeah, terrible news. Never met him but felt I knew him.

 

[TigerForce]

Thanks for the confirmation TBR.

After 16 years on this forum, this is the first passing of a forum 'colleague' I've encountered, even without knowing him or any other on here personally. It makes me feel sick this happens especially at a younger age in your 50s.

RIP LTRTR. We all loved you on here.

 

[CarnTheTiges]

This is a sad day for PRE. I enjoyed reading a lot of the stuff Lee posted, and like many here was in awe of his command of footy stats. Will be missed.

 

[TrialByVideo]

Beautifully put under such sad circumstances @The Big Richo

As an outsider looking in for many years, before I began to post I was always amazed at the intricacies of Lee's stats and when I eventually did join the conversation he was so knowledgeable in not only Richmond's statistical history, but of the game itself.
You always knew that if you tagged @LeeToRainesToRoach into a post for the most obscure stat..... soon enough it would pop up with triple the information requested.

I suppose those of us like myself, who have never met any other members of PRE, tend to have this mental picture of what they look like and who they are as a person when we really have no idea at all.
So tonight I look to the one thing I do know we had in common, which was a deep love of our club and his passing leaves me with a terrible sadness. Vale Lee.

 

[Baloo]

Feeling shattered and numb. I'm going to miss the cantankerous *smile*. Thank *smile* the club dominated the AFL and brought him 3 Premierships to enjoy. He'll be remembered for a long time to come, especially when we're in search of an obscure stat. I wonder what the hack journos that would steal his stats and use them for stories are going to do now...

R.I.P. Lee. A True Tiger.

 

[jb03]

This is from BigFooty.

Hi - another one of Ronnie's sisters here ... this is all beautiful, thank you so much. Ron had had a cough for the past few weeks, and it turned worse on Tuesday night and he called an ambulance, but they arrived too late. He tested negative for covid earlier that night. He was 53 years old.
Ronnie spent a few years on the dole in his 20s where he was writing a program to predict horse racing winners. When that didn't succeed he went back to uni and delivered pizza at nights. They called him Rainman and Calculus at MOCCC. But no one seems to know that he failed year eight and changed schools. Failed year ten and changed schools again. Out of this school hopping came an unfathomable mind for stats, and a fierce and biting use of words.
I'm not familiar with the forums, if there's anything I should read can you point me to it?
BTW, Ronnie never married or had kids. He is survived by our mum, three sisters, five nieces and nephews.
Many thanks, Barb.

 

[BT Tiger]

That is terrible news and I'm shocked.

RIP Lee, you will be missed around here.

 

[blofield]

This is from BigFooty.

Hi - another one of Ronnie's sisters here ... this is all beautiful, thank you so much. Ron had had a cough for the past few weeks, and it turned worse on Tuesday night and he called an ambulance, but they arrived too late. He tested negative for covid earlier that night. He was 53 years old.
Ronnie spent a few years on the dole in his 20s where he was writing a program to predict horse racing winners. When that didn't succeed he went back to uni and delivered pizza at nights. They called him Rainman and Calculus at MOCCC. But no one seems to know that he failed year eight and changed schools. Failed year ten and changed schools again. Out of this school hopping came an unfathomable mind for stats, and a fierce and biting use of words.
I'm not familiar with the forums, if there's anything I should read can you point me to it?
BTW, Ronnie never married or had kids. He is survived by our mum, three sisters, five nieces and nephews.
Many thanks, Barb.

Thanks for sharing Barb's message jb03

She posted this image of Ron too.

Rip mate. You're a Tiger Legend here. Will forever miss our chats

 

[Baloo]

He was a bit of a legend around the ammo cricket leagues.

Ron Murray 250 Games — Marcellin Old Collegians Cricket Club

MOCCC are incredibly pleased to congratulate club legend and life member Ron Murray on his 250th senior game. Click Read More for the full article on this club great.

www.marcellinoccc.org.au

 

[Streak]

This is from BigFooty.

Hi - another one of Ronnie's sisters here ... this is all beautiful, thank you so much. Ron had had a cough for the past few weeks, and it turned worse on Tuesday night and he called an ambulance, but they arrived too late. He tested negative for covid earlier that night. He was 53 years old.
Ronnie spent a few years on the dole in his 20s where he was writing a program to predict horse racing winners. When that didn't succeed he went back to uni and delivered pizza at nights. They called him Rainman and Calculus at MOCCC. But no one seems to know that he failed year eight and changed schools. Failed year ten and changed schools again. Out of this school hopping came an unfathomable mind for stats, and a fierce and biting use of words.
I'm not familiar with the forums, if there's anything I should read can you point me to it?
BTW, Ronnie never married or had kids. He is survived by our mum, three sisters, five nieces and nephews.
Many thanks, Barb.

Thanks for posting this JB

I feel a little better knowing he had a family around him.

 

[spook]

A cough but not covid. Bloody hell.

RIP Ron.

We'll miss you, Lee.

 

[BrisTiger24]

Such sad news. RIP L2R2R. You will be missed

 

[DjJazzyPete]

Sad news .. been on this forum since around 2002 approx .. ( as cooltiger for many years ) read many of his posts over the years. Guys it's really sad when a member of our community passes .. yep will be missed.

 

[tigerman]

Anyone who likes a punt, likes his cricket and loves the Richmond Football Club is a good bloke.
Condolences to family and friends.

RIP Ron.

 

[Leysy Days]

RIP Legend. You will be missed here.

A link to some nice tributes to his legacy.

Kudoboard for Sandra Murray and Barbara, Mandie, Jess | Kudoboard

Kudoboard is an online replacement for the greeting card that you pass around and sign!

www.kudoboard.com

 

[The_General]

I'm not going to say much, except that even without knowing you personally Ron, I'm left a whole lot sadder today knowing you won't be on PRE anymore.
I hope that at least you've had a great few years watching our club come back from the brink.
I've got my own stat to give, PRE is now 1 key contributor down.

 

[23.21.159]

Wow. I am stunned. Don't think I have ever been as shocked by the passing of someone I had never met. As is evidenced by my PRE name, I'm a bit of a stats man myself and I had exchanged more than a few emails with Ron over the years. For those who don't know he was also a bit of Bruce Springsteen fan as I am. I didn't agree with alot of his political leanings but there are very few of that persuasion on social media that argue that political line as intelligently as he did.
RIP Ron.

 

[AngryAnt]

Great eulogy TBR.

What is there to say. I loved his stats posts and had great battles with him on politics where he always gave as good as it got. He was often a lone hand facing up to us rabid lefties but always stood his ground.

i joined PRE almost exactly when he did and I'm the same age. Life is precious and we never know when it's our turn to go.

Lovely to hear about his family and great cricket career. So glad he got to see our Tigers have the great success they did. And his passing makes me reflect how we should all try to be kinder to each other.

Vale Lee, you'll be missed.