THE funeral of Saddleworth Rangers’ legendary coach Mick Coates will take place on Friday, June 18 at the clubhouse in Greenfield.
Grotton-based Mick passed away suddenly on May 27, 2021, aged 60 years old.
He was the beloved husband and best friend of Tracy, loving dad of Michael, Liam and Jodie, father-in-law of Ruth and Rebecca, proud grandad of Ruby, Billy, Evie, Betsy, Luca, Reuben. He will be sadly missed by his brothers Terry, Paul and their families.
Mick’s funeral will take place on Friday, June 18 at Saddleworth Rangers Clubhouse, Shaw Hall Bank Road at 1pm prior to interment at Greenacres.
The service will be inside the clubhouse and is by invite only for family and a few close friends but it will be broadcast outside on speakers and everyone is welcome to stand on the astro and car park to listen and pay their respects.
Due to the number of people who’ll want to attend, there will be no parking at the club, with only the funeral cortege driving into the ground.
The club will be open later in the afternoon to raise a glass to a Rangers legend and friend to so many.
Mick will forever be associated with the club’s most successful era when he coached the first team to three National Cup wins out of four final appearances in five years and a National League title.
Before that, he played in one of Rangers’ most talented ever youth teams alongside Terry Flanagan and Nicky Kiss.
Mick, an electrician by trade, was described as a fierce and skilful competitor on the pitch whose no nonsense style earned him contracts at Rochdale Hornets and Swinton before a back injury brought his career to a premature end.
The professional game’s loss was Rangers’ gain as he set about building a team in the late 1980s and early 90s that set new standards in amateur rugby league. The pinnacle was the treble-winning team of 1992-93.
You must be logged in to post a comment.