Johnny Haynes

Johnny Haynes

Statue of Haynes outside Craven Cottage
Personal information
Full name	John Norman Haynes
Date of birth	(1934-10-17)17 October 1934
Place of birth	Kentish Town, London, England
Date of death	18 October 2005(2005-10-18) (aged 71)
Place of death	Edinburgh, Scotland
Playing position	Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1952–1970	Fulham	594	(146)
1951	→ Wimbledon (loan)	6	(4)
1961	→ Toronto City (loan)	5	(1)
1970–1971	Durban City	24	(9)
1972–1973	Wealdstone	3	(0)
Total		632	(161)
National team
1955–1957	England U23	8	(8)
1954–1962	England	56	(18)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

John Norman "Johnny" Haynes (17 October 1934 – 18 October 2005) was an English footballer, best known for his 18 years at Fulham. An inside forward, Haynes is widely regarded as the greatest footballer ever to play for the London club, particularly noted for his exceptional passing skill and ability to read a game. An accomplished international, he made 56 appearances for his country, including 22 as captain (many of them while playing for Fulham in the Second Division). Haynes became the first player to be paid £100 a week, immediately following the abolition of the £20 maximum wage in 1961.Pelé was once quoted as calling Haynes the "best passer of the ball I've ever seen".

Johnny Haynes was born in the Kentish Town area of London. He signed for Fulham as a schoolboy in 1950 and turned professional in May 1952, at the age of 17 (the youngest possible age legally) and made his debut at 18. He remained at Fulham for his entire professional career, until leaving for South Africa in 1970, where he played for the now defunct Durban City.

Haynes became the first player to play for England in every class of football available in his playing era - school, youth, under 23, `B` and full international level. His debut for the full senior side came on 2 October 1954, scoring a goal in a 2-0 England victory over Northern Ireland at Windsor Park, Belfast. An accomplished career saw him making 55 further appearances (the last 22 as captain) for the national side, with perhaps his best game being 1958 at Wembley Stadium when he scored a hat-trick against the Soviet Union in a 5-0 win. He was to become one of the famous stars of the sport along with Stanley Matthews and others of the era, and was to be one of the first to appear in adverts (for Brylcreem), after Denis Compton.