Date / Year of birth: 19th February 1952

Position: Utility

Season of first appearance: 1967/68

Season of last appearance: 1985/86

Also played for: Folkestone & Shepway, Folkestone Town and Ramsgate

Versatile 5' 7" tall Aldgate-born player who initially joined Margate in the summer of 1967 and made his first appearance for the reserves on 30.9.67 aged just 15.

Ray then became a fixture in the reserves during the remainder of the 1967/68 season and also made a one-off appearance for the first team. His debut came when he played at right-back in a 3-3 draw at Hastings in the Kent Floodlight Cup on 20.3.68. It was only a month after Ray's 16th birthday.

He continued to play regularly for the reserves during the 1968/69 campaign and played twice more for the first team too, first appearing on 25.3.69 in a 1-1 draw at Deal.

Ray signed professional forms in the summer of 1969 and he went on to make ten further first team appearances (one as sub) during the 1969/70 season. He usually played at left-back and impressed with his speed and solid tackling. His performance after coming on as a substitute in the Kent Floodlight Cup Final Replay at Gravesend & Northfleet on 15.5.70 was described as "outstanding" by the local press.

During the 1970/71 season Ray made 36 appearances, six of them as a substitute, and scored three goals. The first of them - Ray's first for the club - came during a 3-1 win at Andover in the FA Trophy on 5.12.70. Throughout the season Ray impressed with his determined, energetic style of play and he usually played at either right-back or as a striker. In January 1971 he was given the captaincy for a spell and at the time Ray was only 18. He was referred to as a "blonde bombshell" by the local press during the season.

A back injury forced Ray to sit out the early part of the 1971/72 campaign and he often found himself on the subs bench once he'd recovered. However Ray still made a total of 43 appearances, 11 of them as a substitute, and in doing so took his overall tally for the club past 100. He spent most of the season playing at right-back but also featured at left-back on occasions. His enthusiastic over-lapping won him praise from the local press and Ray was said to play as if he was "bristling with fire".

On 2.10.71 he scored a great goal with a drive from the edge of the penalty area in a 4-3 win at Telford and on 20.11.71 Ray came on as a substitute as Margate infamously lost 11-0 at Bournemouth & Boscombe in the FA Cup 1st Round. He managed one other goal during the campaign and again it was a good one as Ray cut in from the right wing to fire home from distance in a 4-2 win at Ashford on 24.11.71. He was watched by Football League scouts during the season.

Ray spent the majority of the 1972/73 campaign playing at left-back, initially filling in for the injured Alan Butterfield but later being chosen in preference to him. He also played at right-back on occasions when Colin Clewlow switched to central defence. Ray's attacking full-back play again won him many plaudits and his hard tackling prompted the local press to describe him as "a resolute defender who replaces his lack of inches with anticipation". He made a total of 56 appearances (four as a substitute) during the season and scored twice. Ray's first goal came in a 3-1 win over Poole at Hartsdown Park on 7.10.72 and he found the net from fully 35 yards. The Thanet Times said the strike "would have won any goal of the month competition".

On 18.11.72 he was in the Margate side that beat Swansea 1-0 in an FA Cup 1st Round tie at Hartsdown Park and Ray also featured in a 1-0 win at Walton & Hersham in the 2nd Round on 9.12.72. He then played in perhaps Margate's biggest ever match - a 6-0 defeat against visitors Tottenham in the 3rd Round on 13.1.73. Ray's second goal of the campaign came in a 3-2 defeat at Canterbury on 23.1.73 when he hammered home a shot from the edge of the penalty area after a solo run.

During the 1973/74 season Ray was virtually ever-present, making 59 appearances to take his overall tally for the club past 200. He played at right-back throughout the campaign and was variously described as being "dashing", "a model of consistency" and "a redoubtable dreadnought" by the local press. Ray was a worthy winner of the club's 'Player of the Year' award.

He managed three goals during the season and the first of them came in a 4-1 home win over Maidstone on 26.12.73. Ray cracked home a shot described by the Isle of Thanet Gazette as "blistering" from out on the right wing and then on 27.1.74 he scored what the Thanet Times called a "truly memorable goal" as Margate beat Bognor Regis 5-1 at Hartsdown Park. Ray exchanged passes with Eddie Clayton before smashing home a shot from outside the penalty area. He also scored a superb solo goal in a 2-1 win over visitors Folkestone on 9.3.74, collecting the ball some 40 yards out and then surging forward. Ray beat several defenders in a diagonal run before lashing home with his weaker left foot. On 13.4.74 he was in the side that won the Kent Senior Cup with a 2-0 win at Maidstone.

Ray was suspended for the first two weeks of the 1974/75 season and took a while to regain his place in the side after his enforced absence. However by October 1974 he was back in the first team and found himself playing at left-back initially.

As the campaign wore on Ray played a few games at right-back and also appeared in central defence before moving up into midfield. He thrived in his new position and finished the season having made 50 appearances (three as sub), scoring four goals. The pick of them was a solo effort in a 3-2 win at Folkestone & Shepway on 10.12.74, Ray ran from his own penalty area before firing home. He also scored with a spectacular header in a 2-0 over Romford on 4.1.75. Ray's best performance of the season came in the first leg of the Southern League Cup Final against Kettering on 5.4.75. The Thanet Times said that he put on "a one man show...mopping up at the back, powering through midfield and linking with the attack".

During the 1975/76 campaign Ray continued to revel in a midfield role and he was praised by the Thanet Times for giving "101% for 90 minutes". He made 58 appearances, taking his career tally past 300, and scored eight goals. Although he spent the majority of the season in midfield Ray also played as a right-back, centre-back and centre-forward on occasions during the campaign. On 22.4.76 he played as Margate won 2-0 at Canterbury in the 1st Leg of the Kent Floodlight Trophy Final and Ray also featured in the 2nd Leg at Hartsdown Park on 24.4.76 which the visitors won 2-1 after extra time. The result meant Margate took the trophy with a 3-2 aggregate win.

The 1976/77 season saw Ray once again being used as something of a 'utility man' and he played in midfield, up front, at left-back and at centre-back during the season. He made 54 appearances and although many of them were in defensive positions Ray was the club's leading marksman with 15 goals.

On 28.9.76 he scored a hat-trick in a 5-2 win over Hastings at Hartsdown Park and on 20.11.76 Ray scored a superb solo goal during a 3-1 home defeat against Bedford. He beat three defenders before scoring with a low swerving shot from 35 yards. His consistent performances in a range of positions were enough to win Ray the club's 'Player of the Year' award for the season, the second time he'd won the trophy, but unfortunately Margate were relegated from the Southern League Premier Division.

The 1977/78 campaign was a memorable one for Ray, as club captain he made 41 appearances to take his overall tally past the 400 mark and he scored a career-best 20 goals which made him the club's joint leading marksman along with Vic Pain. Margate won the Southern League 1st Division (South) title and it was also Ray's benefit season, in recognition of his ten years at the club. Events held to raise funds for him included a stag night and disco.

Ray spent most of the campaign playing as a striker and on 17.12.77 he scored five times in a 7-1 win over Trowbridge at Hartsdown Park including a remarkable spell of three goals in four minutes. On 28.2.78 he was sent off for throwing a punch at an opponent in a 5-0 home win over Crawley and as a result Ray bizarrely missed his own testimonial match - against 2nd Division Luton on 15.3.78 - due to suspension. Shortly before the Luton game Ray had been offered to Folkestone & Shepway in part-exchange for Neil Cugley but he didn't want to move and the Cugley transfer went through as a straight cash deal instead.

Ray began the 1978/79 season playing up front and on 23.9.78 he took over in goal when Steve Bowtell was carried off before half-time in a 1-1 draw with visitors Nuneaton. Ray had scored four times in 14 appearances when he was sold to Folkestone & Shepway for £750 in November 1978. His 11 year spell at Hartsdown Park ended at the age of 26 and manager Dennis Hunt said "we sold him because we need a few quality players quickly". Hunt added "he has given outstanding service to Margate."

Ray went on to score 11 goals for Folkestone & Shepway before the end of the 1978/79 campaign.

In February 1980 Ray rejoined Margate in a straight swap for Alan Fagan and the first match of his second spell with the club was a 2-0 defeat at Andover on 9.2.80. Ray played in midfield and went on to make 15 appearances, all in that position, before the end of the 1979/80 campaign. He scored four goals and was praised for his "whole-hearted industry" by the Isle of Thanet Gazette.

Ray continued to be a fixture in the side during the 1980/81 season, usually playing in midfield or as a striker. He also turned out at right-back, left-back and centre-back during the campaign. Ray's competitive instincts were as keen as ever and at one stage the Thanet Times said that he had "a frustrating tendency to be penalised for clumsy challenges". The paper also claimed that Ray was "as solo-minded as the Lone Ranger" in its report on a 5-0 home defeat against Dorchester in January 1981. However the Isle of Thanet Gazette said that Ray was "a constant source of inspiration" in a 3-2 defeat against visitors Ashford in the Kent Senior Cup on 27.1.81. Ray had made a total of 42 appearances and scored six goals during the season when his Margate career finally ended in February 1981. After playing in a 0-0 draw with Salisbury at Hartsdown Park on 21.2.81 he left the club and rejoined Folkestone. It was part of a drastic cost-cutting exercise by the club and Ray's final appearance for Margate had come just under 13 years since his first.

In the summer of 1981 he became area manager for the 'Goldliner' lottery and sales of the tickets helped clubs such as Thanet United.

Ray stayed with Folkestone until January 1982 when he returned to Thanet and joined Ramsgate.

He played for the Rams for the rest of the 1981/82 season but he also made a brief return to Hartsdown Park. Ramsgate allowed Ray to play at right-back for Thanet in a 3-2 defeat at home to Ashford on 16.2.82 but it was strictly a one game loan deal.

At the end of the 1981/82 campaign he was forced to give up playing for the Rams due to work commitments. Ray then dropped into amateur football and played for Margate Athletic for several seasons.

In December 1985 Ray scored a hat-trick in a veterans match at Hartsdown Park and his performance prompted Thanet manager John Wickens to sign him on for United. He played a few games for the reserves early in 1986 and then on 4.2.86 Ray wore the number 11 shirt for United's first team as they took on Dover in an Eastern Floodlight Cup tie at Hartsdown Park. It was almost 18 years since he'd made his Margate debut, also in a Floodlight Cup game, and the match was the last of Ray's senior career. He played as a striker as Thanet won 1-0 and had a header well saved by future Margate keeper Kevin Hudson during the first half. Early in the second period Ray hobbled off with a leg injury and he then dropped back into local amateur football, becoming player-manager of Oddfellows FC for the 1986/87 season.

During the early part of his Margate career Ray worked in chemical manufacturing but he later became a well-known pub landlord in the Thanet area. He ran the Ruby Lounge in Margate for a lengthy period and later took over The Belle Vue in Cliftonville. Ray was still landlord there in 2006.

His son Rob played for Margate during the 1990's and then spent several seasons with Herne Bay before moving to Ramsgate during the 2004/05 campaign. He later returned to Margate, playing for the club during 2007/08.

In 2013 Ray was Head Steward of The Birchington Club and on 12.4.14 he was one of the many former Margate players who attended the club's 'Legends Day' at Hartsdown Park.