He represented the United States in the three Olympic Games held the 1920s, winning a bronze medal for the 3000 m team race in 1924.

Ray won the Millrose Games' Wannamaker one and a half-mile (2400 m) race (which changed to the Wanamaker Mile in 1926) seven times in the eight-year span from 1917 to 1924, losing in 1925 to Paavo Nurmi of Finland.

[2] Ray competed for the United States in the 1920 Summer Olympics at Antwerp, placing 8th in the 1500 metre race.

In the 1924 Games in Paris, Ray competed in only the 3000 metre team race for which he won a bronze medal.

Later in life, Ray worked in a steel mill in Gary, Indiana, moving to Michigan after retiring.