Ray was born at Grand Bank hospital in 1951. He grew up in St. Lawrence where Farrell's meadow became his soccer pitch. When he attended St. Augustine's High he was a star player for the House team called St. Dominic's and won the Scoring title twice.

He played Junior soccer from 1967 to 1970. In 1967 when Newfoundland first entered the National Challenge Cup, Ray, at the age of 16 played with the Senior Laurentians in Toronto against the Ontario Ballamena Club. St. Lawrence lost the game 3 -2 but it was a great experience for Ray's soccer career. He played both Junior and Senior until 1970 and then played one more year before moving to St. John's.

In 1973 Ray was a member of an All-Star Newfoundland team that toured England. Ray was singled out by English scouts as having great potential to advance in the game.

According to Wils Molloy who played with and against Ray, he was a very talented player. His heads-up play and his quickness with the ball on either wing gave many defenders a lot of trouble. He could score from almost impossible angles, low or high, it didn't matter.

His big test came in 1973 when he faced off against his beloved Laurentians on King George V pitch in St. John's. Ray scored two goals for Holy Cross in that game and was named the Most Valuable Player.

Ray is a great follower of the Laurentians and some day he hopes to don the Laurentian uniform once again playing for the Masters.