Born in Letchworth Garden City, Ray started his career at Letchworth Boys Club, before joining Hitchin Town and making his debut in 1952; scoring twice in a win against Wolverton in the FA Cup. He helped his side to a second-place finish in the Athenian League during his time at the club and in 1953-54 Hitchin reached the quarter-finals of the FA Amateur Cup, but he was injured for the match and therefore spared a crushing 10-1 defeat against Crook.
Ray's performances had caught the eye of Chelsea scouts. Though he was initially reluctant to become professional (and therefore losing out on what was a realistic prospect of representing England at amateur level), he later accepted an invitation from Ted Drake to join Chelsea's post-season tour of North America and subsequently signed for the Blues.
He saw his club win the league title for the first time in their history in the 1954-55 season. Though he didn't appear for the first team he appeared regularly for the reserves, earning a winner's medal as his side won the Football Combination. His only first-team appearance for the Blues came in a 2-2 away draw against Manchester City the following season.
Ray left to join Norwich City in 1957 and later played in the Eastern Counties League. He died in 2013 at the age of 82 after a long battle with Parkinson's disease.
Born in Letchworth Garden City, Ray started his career at Letchworth Boys Club, before joining Hitchin Town and making his debut in 1952; scoring twice in a win against Wolverton in the FA Cup. He helped his side to a second-place finish in the Athenian League during his time at the club and in 1953-54 Hitchin reached the quarter-finals of the FA Amateur Cup, but he was injured for the match and therefore spared a crushing 10-1 defeat against Crook.
Ray's performances had caught the eye of Chelsea scouts. Though he was initially reluctant to become professional (and therefore losing out on what was a realistic prospect of representing England at amateur level), he later accepted an invitation from Ted Drake to join Chelsea's post-season tour of North America and subsequently signed for the Blues.
He saw his club win the league title for the first time in their history in the 1954-55 season. Though he didn't appear for the first team he appeared regularly for the reserves, earning a winner's medal as his side won the Football Combination. His only first-team appearance for the Blues came in a 2-2 away draw against Manchester City the following season.
Ray left to join Norwich City in 1957 and later played in the Eastern Counties League. He died in 2013 at the age of 82 after a long battle with Parkinson's disease.
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