Born in
Hamilton on 25 July 1931, Day was the son of Eric Charles Day and Mary Margaret Day (née McNicol). His father was appointed a
Member of the Order of the British Empire in the
1953 Coronation Honours, for services in promoting rehabilitation activities in the South Auckland area. Murray Day was educated at
Southwell School from 1939 to 1944, and then
Wanganui Collegiate School, and went on to study accountancy at
Auckland University College. He was the New Zealand representative on the International Squash Rackets Federation (now the World Squash Federation) from 1967 to 1975, when he was elected the president of the federation, serving in that role until 1981. His leadership helped to transform the federation into a global body, and saw the membership of the body grow from 12 to 45 countries. In 1992, Day became the inaugural president of the Oceania Squash Federation, serving until 1995. ==Honours and awards==