Murray William Hayes was born on Sept. 16, 1924 in Montreal. Now residing in Burlington, Ont., the retired insurance broker originally entered McGill in 1942, but left his studies to serve in World War II with the Royal Canadian Navy Reserves. He returned in 1945 and graduated with a bachelor of commerce in 1949.
At McGill, he was a four-time football all-star, but also competed in hockey, golf and intermediate basketball. On Dec. 13, 1948, he played in McGill's 7-0 win over the Canadian Olympic hockey team. He also played for three seasons on the McGill golf team, competing in numerous local and district tournaments.
In 1946, Hayes was named to the Eastern Canadian football all-star team, which normally encompassed only professional players. He co-captained the football Redmen in 1948, setting a McGill record on Oct. 5, 1946 which still stands, with a kickoff return of 100 yards for a touchdown in an 18-12 victory over Queen's in front of 14,500 fans at Molson Stadium, including the Governor-General Viscount Alexander.
A two-time nominee for the most outstanding Canadian amateur athlete award, he was scouted by the New York Rangers and declined pro offers from N.Y. Giants, Montreal Alouettes, Ottawa Rough Riders and Sarnia Imperials. His exploits were such that some three decades after graduating, he was mentioned in an Aislin cartoon published in The Gazette (1979).
In the August 9, 1979 edition of The Montreal Star, football columnist Fred Roberts wrote: "Two things happened this week which triggered some wonderful memories of years gone by.... I received a call from Murray Hayes... who spent four years at McGill, working on a degree from Monday to Friday and then spinning cobwebs around defensive half backs on Saturday afternoons. Invariably, when the brew is flowing freely and the talk gets around to some of the great running backs at McGill, Hayes' name is the first to surface. Everybody else is No. 2."
In the Oct. 17, 1947 edition of The London Free Press, football columnist Bob Frewin wrote: "One of our favourite football players performs here tomorrow in the McGill backfield, when Murray Hayes lines up in Mr. Obeck's new formation. A McGill player for the past two seasons, Hayes may be best remembered for his outstanding effort against the Mustangs in Molson Stadium last year when he ran, kicked, passed, tackled, blocked and carried the water bucket in an attempt to defeat a superior Western team all by himself. Watching Hayes play is a pleasure for any football spectator, no matter how biased or enthusiastic. When better sportsmen are made, they will probably be named Hayes, run miles against Western, and give (Mustangs coach) Johnny Metras anxious moments."
