Harry Haynes (21 April 1873 – 29 May 1902) was an English

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 ...

who played as a full back for Walsall Town Swifts,

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

Small Heath Small Heath is an area in south-east Birmingham, West Midlands, England situated on and around the Coventry Road about from the city centre. History Small Heath, which has been settled and used since Roman times, sits on top of a small hill. ...

and

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

in the 1890s.

Career

Midlands

Haynes was born in

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is th ...

and after playing his club football with Walsall Unity, he joined Walsall Town Swifts making three appearances in the

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third t ...

in the 1892–93 season. In February 1893, he moved up to the First Division with

. After two seasons with Wolves, he joined Midlands rivals

in July 1895. He made ten appearances as one of several players tried at centre-half before

Alex Leake Alexander Leake (11 July 1871 – 29 March 1938), known as Alex or Alec Leake, was an English professional footballer who won five caps for his country and made 407 appearances in the Football League playing as a half back for Small Heath, As ...

came through from the

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

to become the regular first choice in that position. In the 1896 close season, Haynes was persuaded to leave the Midlands and move to the south coast to join Southern League Southampton St. Mary's, though Small Heath retained his Football League registration. He signed his contract with his new club on Birmingham New Street station with a pen borrowed from a booking office clerk.

Southampton

In his first season with the "Saints", he converted from a half back to play at left back; his pairing with Samuel Meston helped Southampton to claim their first Southern League title at the end of the 1896–97 season, with only 18 goals conceded from 20 matches. For the following season, Haynes linked up with Tom Nicol, with Meston moving to right half. Their defensive prowess helped Southampton to retain their Southern League title, again conceding only 18 goals (from 22 matches). The Saints also reached the 1898 FA Cup semi-final, where they were defeated by

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

in rather controversial circumstances after goalkeeper George Clawley had his eyes "choked with snow" and conceded two goals in the final minutes of the game. Haynes continued to appear regularly in the 1898–99 season, but was gradually moved forward, first to

centre half In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either ...

, and finally onto the left wing, from where he scored twice at the end of the season to help the Saints claim the championship for the third consecutive season. In the 1899–1900 season, Haynes lost his place to Peter Durber and made only four appearances, before retiring at the end of the season. In his four seasons with the Saints, Haynes made a total of 76 appearances, scoring five goals.

After football

Haynes had already made plans for his life after football, taking over as landlord at the Turks Head pub in September 1898. After retiring from playing, he continued to act as a scout for Southampton – the most notable player introduced by him to the club was

Joe French Air Chief Marshal Sir Joseph Charles French, (born 15 July 1949), often known as Sir Joe French, is a retired senior Royal Air Force officer who was the last Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief RAF Strike Command (2006–07). RAF career French joi ...

who spent two seasons at The Dell as a centre half before moving to New Brompton. In May 1902, while behind the bar at the Edinburgh Castle pub, Haynes collapsed and died suddenly at the age of 29.

Honours

Southampton * Southern League championship: 1896–97, 1897–98, 1898–99

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haynes, Harry 1873 births Footballers from Walsall 1902 deaths English men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks Men's association football wing halves Walsall F.C. players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Southampton F.C. players English Football League players Southern Football League players