From where Ray lives these days in Marietta, Georgia, he can look back with pride over his career that took him from the ball diamonds and basketball courts of his youth to compete in places a long way from the streets of New York.

“I grew up on the streets of East Harlem and then the Bronx in my teens,” as he tells his story. “I played baseball and basketball for many years in the Hispanic leagues around New York City. I played third base and I was a guard. We went to Puerto Rico and we played all over Mexico. It was a great time.”

  An injury that required spinal surgery signaled the end of Ray’s playing career. He was 37 years old and not at all ready to call it quits. “So I decided to go back home to New York and work with young kids coming up. It turned out to be something I love to do,” he says.

Ray worked at community service organizations in the New York area, bringing his years of athletic competition to bear on helping young people find their own way in life. “I directed the youth programs and did a lot of teaching and instruction,” he says.

After retiring at the end of 2012, Ray left New York and relocated to Marietta in order to be closer to one of his sons who had graduated from one of Georgia’s leading universities and embarked on a career for an Atlanta-based company.  He also was more than ready to leave the snow and ice of winter in New York for the balmier climate of the Peach State.

Still struggling with the physical pains and stress inflicted on his body from his years as a ballplayer, Ray does his best to watch what he eats and gets in regular cardio exercise at a local gym.

Besides the many aches and pains that Ray still endures from his life playing ball, about nine months ago he began to notice another problem as he’s grown older.