Ray Henderson (footballer)

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Raymond Henderson (31 March 1937 – 18 January 2024) was an English footballer who played as a right winger for Middlesbrough, Hull City and Reading. He was born in Wallsend, North Tyneside, and trained as a marine engineer while playing semi-professional football for Ashington before being spotted by Middlesbrough in the Second Division. He made his first team debut on 23 November 1957 in a 5–2 win over Ipswich Town. In total, he played 243 league games and scored 54 goals.

Henderson joined Hull City in 1961, where he played until 1968. He debuted for Hull in a 4–0 defeat at Port Vale and soon showed his scoring touch, including a brace against Torquay United. On 28 August 1965, he became the first Hull player to come on as a substitute in a league match, scoring the winner against Brighton & Hove Albion. He was part of Hull’s strong forward line known as "the Front Five" and helped the club win promotion to the second tier in the 1965–66 season, scoring 13 league goals that year. After leaving Hull in 1968, he stayed briefly as a trainer for the club.

In October 1968, Henderson moved to Reading as a player-coach. After Roy Bentley was sacked, Henderson became caretaker manager in February 1969 and led Reading for 19 games before Jack Mansell was appointed. He later managed Halifax Town (1971–72) and Southport (1976–77). He also worked as a scout for Oxford United and managed the reserve team at Everton before taking charge of Southport.

Ray Henderson died on 18 January 2024 in Wetherby, England, at the age of 86.