 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ralph Coates | ||
| Date of birth | (1946-04-26)26 April 1946 | ||
| Place of birth | Hetton-le-Hole, England | ||
| Date of death | 17 December 2010(2010-12-17) (aged 64) | ||
| Place of death | Luton, England | ||
| Position | Winger | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1962–1964 | Burnley | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1964–1971 | Burnley | 216 | (26) |
| 1971–1978 | Tottenham Hotspur | 188 | (14) |
| 1978 | St George | 11 | (3) |
| 1978–1981 | Orient | 76 | (12) |
| Total | 480 | (52) | |
| International career | |||
| 1966–1969 | England U-23 | 8 | (2) |
| 1970–1971 | England | 4 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Ralph Coates (26 April 1946 – 17 December 2010) was an English professionalfootballer who played as awinger. Coates played forBurnley,Tottenham Hotspur andOrient, making 480 appearances inthe Football League.[1] From 1970 to 1971, he played for theEngland national team, earning four caps.[2][3]
Coates was born inHetton-le-Hole, County Durham. He was an apprentice colliery fitter and his footballing ability was spotted by Burnley's North-East scoutJack Hixon.[4] Coates joined Burnley on trial in 1961, and after a period as an apprentice, turned professional in 1963.[5] He made his first-team debut in December 1964, scoring his first goal in a 2–0 win againstLeicester City in March 1965.[5] He would go on to make 261 appearances for Burnley in all competitions, scoring 32 goals.[5] After Burnley had been relegated from theFirst Division in 1971, Coates was sold to Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of £190,000.[5] He played over 300 games for Tottenham and earned winner's medals for the1971–72 UEFA Cup and the1972–73 Football League Cup, where he scored the winning goal inthe final.[5] Coates left Tottenham in 1978 and had a short period playing withSt George in the AustralianNational Soccer League, before returning to play for Orient, where he was also on the coaching staff.[5][6] He played 84 games in all competitions for Orient scoring 12 goals.[7]
He retired from professional football in 1982, but continued to play non-league football for Hertford Heath,Ware and Nazeing.[7]
Coates played eight times forEngland U-23[8] and four times forEngland. He was a member of the initial squad forthe 1970 World Cup but was not selected for the final squad which travelled toMexico.[5]
Coates was married twice, first to Veronica Banks in 1968 (whom he subsequently divorced) and then to Lesley Clarkson in 1981 (from whom he had separated by the time of his death).[9] He had a son and a daughter.[10] Coates was aLabour Party supporter.[11]
After his football career ended, Coates became atravel agent.[10] He later moved into the leisure industry, managing leisure centres inChelmsford andBoreham Wood[7] and was involved with Tottenham Hotspur for over 20 years, where he worked as a match-day host.[5] He was also a football coach for disabled children.[12]
In early December 2010, he suffered a series of strokes and was hospitalised.[13] He died on 17 December 2010 at theLuton and Dunstable Hospital NHS Trust aged 64.[14][15][16]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | |||
| 1970 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1971 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 4 | 0 | |