The London-born businessman was Chelsea's third-longest-serving chairman, spending 22 years in charge after buying the club for a nominal fee of one pound ($A1.9) back in 1982 and assuming debts of around Stg 2 million ($A3.8 million).
Twenty-one years later Bates ended up selling Chelsea to Roman Abramovich for a reported Stg 140 million ($A269 million) after leading them back to the top flight, winning the FA Cup (1997, 2000), League Cup (1998), Cup Winners' Cup (1998) and re-establishing them among the elite.
Bates was a combative character, writing matchday programme notes in which he attacked individuals, and in 2002 was sued for libel after describing one fans' group as "parasites".
After selling up at Chelsea, he took over at Leeds in 2005 and spent nearly eight much less successful years as owner.
While at Chelsea, Bates set up the non-profit Chelsea Pitch Owners organisation that effectively secured the future of Stamford Bridge and staved off property developers looking to redevelop the site.
Bates was never far from the headlines throughout his 48 years in the game. Outspoken, anti-establishment, often offensive and sometimes outrageous, he pushed the boundaries and hogged the spotlight, but, for reasons good and bad, left an indelible impression.
Divisive, bombastic, arrogant, ruthless and self-serving – Bates was described as them all, and more, across five decades of notoriety. But he also got things done.
He once built an electric perimeter fence around the Stamford Bridge pitch, but was refused permission to turn on the electricity by the local council.
Bates was born with a club foot, which required numerous operations, grew up as a QPR fan and, after heading north, had initial success helping to run a quarry business in Manchester.
He began to build an impenetrable business portfolio, investing in Australia's sugar cane industry and in property development in South Africa and reportedly bought his first Bentley aged 23.
He had been chairman of Oldham for five years in the 1960s and then co-owner of Wigan before his famous purchase of Chelsea for a pound in 1982.
Bates was involved in a bitter fall-out with major Chelsea investor Matthew Harding and was widely censured for remarks made about him after he had been killed in a helicopter crash in 1996.
He still walked away from Stamford Bridge a hero to many Blues fans, but, following his purchase of another fallen giant Leeds in 2005, Bates won few admirers.
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