Ray Liotta to Be Honored by His New Jersey Hometown

Ray Liotta's legacy will surely live on in his hometown, where planning is underway to commemorate the late actor's career in Union Township, New Jersey ... cause the city is planning to honor him in a special way.

Ray grew up in Union Township, New Jersey ... he graduated high school there in 1973, and his iconic roles would make him one of the town's favorite sons. Current mayor Manuel Figueiredo tells TMZ, they are looking at a variety of options to honor Ray, but also giving the family time to grieve before making a final decision.

We're told, the city is considering naming one of its baseball fields after him, as a nod to his role in "Field of Dreams." The field they're looking at is used for youth sports in the area.

In case you didn't know, Ray was born in Newark, but raised in Union Township. His family actually has strong ties there -- his mom was the Township clerk, and his dad was a store owner and President of a local Democratic club.

Ray was inducted into the Union High School Hall of Fame in 1993, and that same year, he participated in the Township's Annual Holiday Tree Lighting ceremony.

As we've reported, Ray died in his sleep last week at the age of 67 ... while in the Dominican Republic filming a movie called "Dangerous Waters."