Joseph Morris Bates (22 May 1864 – 6 September 1905), usually known as Morris Bates, was an English footballer. Bates first played as an amateur for Nottingham Forest, before moving south to London to take up work at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich (along with former teammate Fred Beardsley). There, he met several other keen football fans, including Jack Humble and David Danskin, and together they formed Dial Square Football Club in 1886; the club were soon renamed Royal Arsenal, and are today known simply as Arsenal. Bates continued to officiate as an umpire at some of Forest's games; with Fred Beardsley, he was responsible for obtaining a set of red kit from their old club Forest, giving Arsenal the colours they still wear.