Ron Henry

Ron Henry was at Tottenham for 50 years. He won the Double, the FA Cup again in 1962 and the European Cup Winners Cup the following year. He was man of the match in the FA Cup Final. A former first team captain who played more than 600 games for Spurs at all levels. At one point he missed only one game in a run of 188.

Ron, with Peter Baker, made up our great full-back pairing in the early 1960’s. He was born in Shoreditch, like Peter Baker not more than a few miles from the Lane. At school he was a outside left and played  at District and County levels.

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Later he played non-league for Redbourn, had a trial with Wolverhampton and made amateur appearances with Luton Town. When he did his National Service strangely he was stationed alongside his future Double teammate Terry Dyson. It was here he was spotted playing for an Army XI by the club’s scouts. He had a game for us in the midweek league and signed as an amateur a couple of days later. He quickly joined the A team in December 1954 and signed professional forms the following month.

He soon progressed to the reserves and in March played for the first team at left back in a 5-1 win with Swiss side Servette at the Lane.  The team that day included Baker and Blanchflower. His League debut came at Huddersfield in 1955 at center half. The club afterwards made a donation to his former club Redbourn of twenty six pounds ! At that time Welsh international Mel Hopkins was the regular left back. Ron stayed in the reserves and won the Football Combination (reserve league) in the 1956 and 1957 seasons. As well as the London Challenge Cup in 1959.

With trainer Cyril Poynton - 1960

He finally became a regular in the first team after an injury to Hopkins and made it his for the next six seasons. In this period he became only the 7th player in the clubs history to play more than 100 consecutive league games. Not to mention 25 Cup games in the same run. In fact he only missed one game out of a possible 188! 

In his final season in the first team he captained the team. The last of his 287 top flight competitive games for Tottenham came in December 1965. Ron could of moved to another club but turned down the chance deciding he would rather assist with Tottenham’s reserve team guiding the younger players.

Playing in most games at left half the team won the Football Combination three years running 1966-68.

In the 1969 season he stepped down to do the same job with the A team and won the Autumn Shield. His last appearance was in the Second Leg of the Final.

Ron and Dave Mackay

He served the club for more than 50 years and was the last member of the Double side to leave the Lane. He won the man of the match award in the1961 Cup final. His only goal for the Spurs came in the home win with United in 1965. A volley from 25 / 35 yards (depending on reports). He was quoted afterwards as saying "It was my first and may be my last. But it was worth waiting for.”  He did add another 10 competitive goals for our teams at other levels.

His total number of games for the club at all levels reached past the 600 mark. Ron was known for his intelligent positional play, unfussy distribution and being strong and determined in the tackle. He has been described as having a cool head and an intelligent footballing brain.

With Bill Brown and Peter Baker

He won one England cap in Alf Ramsey’s first game as England manager away to France in 1963. Although he retired in 1969 he continued to coach the club’s schoolboys in the evenings and ran the team in their league games at weekends.

He came out of retirement for one game in 1977 as emergency cover in the Combination side.

His son played for our schoolboy team and his grandson played for our youth sides.

He later ran a garden nursery business in Hertfordshire. Ron was one of the players I don’t remember actually speaking too when we hung around the Lane or the training ground as kids but I expect we did.

Winning his England cap alongside Jimmy Greaves

As the fates would have it, at the turn of the century I lived in Hertfordshire and had visited the nursery several times before discovering it was his families. On one trip I asked after him and he was pointed out to me talking to someone down the field. The last I heard Ron wasn’t in the best of health. He certainly has my best wishes. A true Tottenham man.

Thanks THFC, THOS, Bob Goodwin - The Complete Record, Daily Express, Andy Porter, Daily Mirror,

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Keith Harrison, Nilgiris, TN
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