Smiles all round at Ray's Hall of Fame night

Goalkeeper Ray Clemence became the 41st inductee into our Hall of Fame at a special evening at White Hart Lane on Thursday.

Ray’s family and friends were joined by other legendary ex-players and supporters at the sell-out event to celebrate the career of our former goalkeeper – a loyal servant to us as a player between 1981 and 1987 and again as a coach in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

An FA Cup winner with us in 1982, having won countless trophies during his previous time with Liverpool, Ray was thrilled to be recognised in such a way.

“It’s fantastic!” beamed the Skegness-born stopper, who made 330 appearances in our colours. “You look at those Hall of Fame photos downstairs and there’s some magnificent players there going back through the years, so for me to be nominated and inducted tonight is very special and a proud moment. Thankfully there’s a few members of my family here as well so it’s a great night.”

Former player and manager Glenn Hoddle was one of the special guests present on the night and he was delighted to see our former goalkeeper join him in our Hall of Fame.

“Congratulations to Ray – it’s well deserved,” Glenn said. “I was fortunate enough to have my induction about six or seven years ago and again it was a lovely evening for the family and friends.

“The Hall of Fame is for people who have given good service to the Club and they are special players. Ray is in that category – he was a world-class goalkeeper internationally and at club level with what he did at Liverpool and then when he came down to Tottenham. I’m delighted to see that he’s been inducted tonight.”

Ray’s former team-mate Paul Miller was also in attendance and insisted: “He more than deserves tonight. He’s one of our great players.

“We’ve been lucky at the Club to have had some great goalkeepers – Ted Ditchburn, Bill Brown, Pat Jennings and Clem.

“Ray’s been an absolute legend and he was the final piece of the jigsaw for our great team of the 1980s.”

Former striker Martin Chivers, winger Tony Galvin and Ray’s son Stephen Clemence – who made 109 first team appearances for us between 1997 and 2003 – joined Ray and the other legends on stage to reminisce about our latest inductee’s glorious career while supporters enjoyed a sit-down dinner and the chance to get photos and autographs from the man himself.

Tony, a former Republic of Ireland international and another of Ray’s former Spurs team-mates, enjoyed the evening and concluded: “Ray made a big difference to the team and the Club.

“It’s been a very good turnout. Ray told me he’s very pleased that a lot of people have come along. He’s highly respected as he was a great Tottenham player and a great Liverpool player before that.”

Pictured above: Martin Chivers, Tony Galvin, Ray Clemence, Paul Miller and Stephen Clemence .