Section 104, Row 20 at the Xcel Energy Center no longer includes Bill Murray, one of the boys' hockey state tournament's biggest and most tenured fans.
Murray died in January at age 97 having attended the first 75 state tournaments. He was one of the event's longstanding season ticket holders, since at least 1956, the first year the Minnesota State High School League began keeping track.
There will be one more bag of mini donuts available for purchase this week. A cup or two of coffee that won't get poured. But his four seats will be filled by family members who will keep his tradition alive.
A St. Paul Johnson graduate who went from skating at nearby Phalen Park to later serving hot chocolate and helping maintain the outdoor ice for young puck chasers, Murray "really held on to both East Side pride and the state tournament," daughter Patti said. "The tournament provided him the chance to do a lot of socializing."
Murray's four seats, in the vicinity of other veteran tournament-goers, made Section 104 "like one big family," daughter Sue said. And Murray was a celebrity.
"It was like Norm on Cheers," Patti said, "Everyone looked for Bill."
Bad hearing in his right ear meant Murray preferred to sit on the far right and keep his company on the left. He marked up his programs during tournaments as teams advanced in the brackets.
He marveled at the play of standouts throughout the decades, from Eveleth's John Mayasich (1948-51) to Duluth East's Dave Spehar (1994-96). He watched his Johnson Governors win four state championships from 1947-63 and followed the event from the St. Paul Auditorium to the Met Center in Bloomington, back to the Civic Center, on to the Target Center in Minneapolis and to the capital city once more at the Xcel Energy Center.
