Ralph Coates died at a Bedfordshire hospital this morning following a short illness. He passed away peacefully in his sleep. He was 64.Born at Hetton-Le-Hole, in County Durham, on April 26, 1946, Ralph started out with Burnley, making his league debut for them in December, 1964.
His excellence as a winger/wide midfield player was quickly recognised by England at Under-23 level and he had already won two senior international caps before he moved to Spurs in a £190,000 transfer in May, 1971.
A mobile and energetic player, Ralph made his debut for Spurs at Wolves in August, 1971, and went on to make 248 appearances in all competitions, scoring 24 goals.
He was a member of the Spurs team that won the UEFA Cup in 1972 and reached the final of the same competition two years later. However, his most memorable moment came at Wembley in 1973 League Cup Final when he went on as substitute against Norwich City and scored the only goal of the game.
An extremely likeable man who always had time for a chat with supporters, Ralph was popular part of Spurs behind-the-scenes matchday team in recent seasons. He will be sadly missed by all.
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