Thomas George Hayes (25 September 1908 – 16 May 1984) was a Welsh professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

centre forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

or an

inside forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

. Born in

Port Talbot Port Talbot (, ) is a town and community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, situated on the east side of Swansea Bay, approximately from Swansea. The Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which dominates the south ...

, he played for the Wales Schoolboys team as a youngster and had spells with Port Talbot Athletic and Bridgend Town. In the summer of 1927, Hayes moved to England to join

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

, but he never made a senior appearance for the club. He transferred to

Third Division North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to ...

side

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

in March 1928, one of several new signings by the club as they strove to avoid finishing bottom of the league. Hayes made his Nelson debut on 17 March 1928 in the 5–4 victory away at

Hartlepools United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded in 1908 as Har ...

. He scored his first goals for the club the following month, netting twice in the 4–0 home win against

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

on 7 April, and scoring a consolation goal in the reverse fixture a week later. Hayes made a total of nine league appearances for Nelson, scoring five goals, but was released by the club at the end of the 1927–28 season.

References

* * 1908 births 1984 deaths Sportspeople from Port Talbot Welsh men's footballers Men's association football forwards Port Talbot Town F.C. players Bridgend Town A.F.C. players Barnsley F.C. players Nelson F.C. players English Football League players {{Wales-footy-forward-stub