HENRY, Ronald Patrick (1954-67)
Position: Full back
Height: 5ft 11ins
Weight: 11st 13lbs
Born: Shoreditch, London, 17 August, 1934
Died: Harpenden, 27 December, 2014
Signed from amateur January 1955
Retired May 1969
Also played for: Harpenden Town, Redbourne, England
Spurs Record:
Debut: April 12, 1955 v Huddersfield Town (FL) (a) lost 0-1
Appearances: League 247, FA Cup 23, Europe 17
Goals: League 1
Every great team has its unsung heroes - the hard-working, no-nonsense players who, because they got on with their jobs in a quiet, effective manner, allowed the more flamboyant stars to catch the eye and receive the adulation. Ron Henry was just such a player, a Spurs stalwart in every sense of the word.
Henry was playing for Redbourne when spotted by our scouts and taken on the books as an a amateur in March 1953, but it was almost two years later before he joined the professional staff and began the slow process of working his way through the ranks.
Originally a winger but now playing at half-back, he made his Football League debut in April 1955 playing at centre-half in the absence of Harry Clarke but after the one game it was back to the reserves.
Moving to left-back he settled in the reserve team, a competent if not outstanding performer. Mel Hopkins was the established left-back, one of the best in the country and an automatic choice. Henry made a few appearances when the Welshman was away on international duty or injured, his only sustained run being towards the end of 1958-59 when Hopkins was injured playing for Wales. At first Henry kept the position but once Hopkins was fully recovered, he was straight back in the team and it seemed Henry would have to content himself with the role of Hopkins’ permanent understudy.
However, in November 1959, again whilst playing for his country, Hopkins broke his nose. Henry was called up, no doubt fully expecting his first team tenure to be short-lived again, but this time he was not prepared to relinquish his place so easily.
As Bill Nicholson’s coaching and forays into the transfer market began to have an effect, so Henry blossomed, his confidence increased and he began to show that he was good enough to make a contribution to the best team any manager had ever assembled.
He knew just where to position himself to intercept dangerous passes, when to go in for a tackle and when to hold back. When he got the ball he was neat and tidy, finding a colleague with a simple pass, making himself available to take the ball back and looking for another simple layoff to set Spurs going forward. There was nothing fancy about Henry, everything was simplicity itself and that meant errors were rare.
Throughout the ‘Double’ season Henry’s name appeared on the team sheet for every game as he collected League Championship and FA Cup winners’ medals. In 1961-62 he missed only one game and collected another FA Cup winners medal. In 1962-63 he was again an ever-present, this time ending the season with a European Cup Winners’ Cup winners medal. Only in 1963-64 was he absent for any length of time, and that due to injury, before another season in which he missed only one game. Henry’s name had become a byword for reliability and consistency.
As wingers began to disappear from the game and over-lapping full-backs were expected do their job, Nicholson signed Cyril Knowles. After a season helping the youngster settle in, Knowles took his place but Henry was not lost to Spurs. He dropped down to the reserves, giving them the benefit of his experience and helping the likes of Joe Kinnear to prepare for League action. When he did hang up his boots he coached the juniors and after a spell running a nursery, returned to coach at our School of Excellence. One of his pupils there was his grandson, Ronnie, who went on to enjoy a long career in the professional game with Stevenage and Luton Town.