Michael James Haynes (born July 1, 1953) is an American former professional
football player who was a
cornerback in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL) for the
New England Patriots and the
Los Angeles Raiders. He used his speed, physicality, quickness and range to become both a premier cornerback and an outstanding
punt returner. Haynes was inducted into the
College Football Hall of Fame in 2000 and the
Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1997. He was also named to the
NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1994, as well the
NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team in 2019 for his accomplishments during his 14-year career.
Voted
NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year
Various entities present a National Football League Rookie of the Year Award each season to the top rookie(s) in the National Football League (NFL). The NFL considers the (rookie) of the year awards by the Associated Press (AP) to be its official ...
in 1976, Haynes would go to be a nine-time
Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed thro ...
er and two-time first-team
All-Pro
All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...
throughout his career, in addition to six selections as a second-team All-Pro (including four consecutive from 1976–1980). He was also named to the
NFL 1980s All-Decade Team.
Early years
Haynes went to T.S. King Middle School, as stated by him in the 2012 recognition for his Hall of Fame (NFL) awards. Haynes played
cornerback at
John Marshall High School in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
. The team on which he played chose two all star players to represent Marshall, which would eventually lead to his further career. In addition to football, Haynes also participated in
track and field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...
and currently holds the
long jump
The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a ...
record at John Marshall. During his senior year in 1971, Haynes started both ways on offense (QB) and defense (cornerback). However, Marshall went 0—7—1 in the Northern League in 1971 and tied Belmont 20—20 in his final game. In a show of his athletic accomplishments, John Marshall High School named the school football stadium in his honor when he was inducted into the school football hall of fame in 1986.
In his final regular season track meet, Haynes had to run the final leg of the mile relay, then rest before completing his final long jump effort. The opposing team (archrival Belmont), believing they had won the league championship, loaded their bus and went home. Haynes rested, then leaped 23'5", a school record that still stands, winning the event, the meet and the league championship with it.
College career
At
Arizona State
Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...
, Haynes was a three-time All-
Western Athletic Conference
The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington, and Texas.
Due to mos ...
selection, and a two-time
All-America selection. In his four seasons, Haynes intercepted 17 passes, including a nation-leading 11 interceptions in his junior season of 1974. He also set a school record that same year by returning 46 punts, and scored two touchdowns on punt returns in 1975. In 2000, he was inducted into the
College Football Hall of Fame.
Professional career
New England Patriots
Haynes was selected in the first round in the
1976 NFL Draft by the
New England Patriots. He enjoyed a sensational
rookie
A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year).
In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...
year with the Patriots with eight
interception
In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team ...
s, three fumble recoveries, and an
AFC-leading 608 yards on 45
punt returns. That year, Haynes gave the Patriots their first-ever
touchdown
A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...
s on punt returns with 89-yard and 62-yard returns. He earned a
Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed thro ...
invitation as a rookie, the first of nine Pro Bowl bids. He also won
NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year
Various entities present a National Football League Rookie of the Year Award each season to the top rookie(s) in the National Football League (NFL). The NFL considers the (rookie) of the year awards by the Associated Press (AP) to be its official ...
honors. The 1976 Patriots had an 11–3 record and clinched a playoff berth for the first time in 13 years, losing to Oakland in the first round. In the 1978, Haynes recorded 6 interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown against the Baltimore Colts. The Patriots won their division but lost to Houston in the playoffs.
Haynes recorded 28 interceptions and 1,159 yards on 111 returns, a 10.4-yard average during his seven years with the Patriots. He started his career with 58 consecutive
starts before being sidelined with a rib injury late in 1979.
Haynes was inducted into the
Patriots Hall of Fame in 1994, and his number 40 was retired as well. He was named to the Patriots' All-1970s Team, the 35th Anniversary Team named in 1994, as well as the 50th Anniversary Team named in 2009. He makes sporadic appearances involving the team to this day.
Los Angeles Raiders
Haynes played out his option with the Patriots in 1982, and in November 1983, his contract was awarded to the Los Angeles Raiders in a settlement that gave the Patriots a No. 1 draft choice in
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
and a No. 2 pick in
1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
. After playing the last five regular season games, he started in the Raiders'
Super Bowl XVIII
Super Bowl XVIII was an American football game played on January 22, 1984, at Tampa Stadium between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion and defending Super Bowl XVII champion Washington Redskins and the American Football Conference ( ...
victory, notching one interception, two pass breakups and one tackle. His partner in the Raiders' secondary was
Lester Hayes, and the tandem was quickly recognized as one of the best cornerback duos in league history.
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
general manager
Bobby Beathard
Robert King Beathard Jr. ( ; born January 24, 1937) is an American former football executive who was a general manager in the National Football League (NFL). Over the course of his 38 years in the NFL, his teams competed in seven Super Bowls ( ...
later said that Haynes tipped the balance heavily in the Raiders' favor. The Raiders and Redskins had played in the regular season when Haynes was still a Patriot, and his addition gave the Raiders the luxury of having two shutdown corners.
In seven seasons with the Raiders, Haynes returned only one punt but he added 18 interceptions to give him a career total of 46 which were returned for 688 yards and two touchdowns, including a team-record 97-yard return against
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
in 1984. Haynes finished that season with a league-leading 220 interception return yards. He also had 12 career fumble recoveries. Haynes was an
All-Pro
All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...
choice in 1977, 1978, 1982, 1984 and 1985 and an All-AFC pick eight times. On special teams, he totaled 112 punt returns for 1,168 yards and two scores.
In 1997, he was elected to the
Pro Football Hall of Fame. In 1999, he was ranked number 93 on ''
The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Football Players. He is ranked number 49 on the
NFL Network
NFL Network (occasionally abbreviated on-air as NFLN) is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Football League (NFL) and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and NF ...
Top 100 Greatest Players.
Personal life
Haynes's nephew is basketball player
Justin Bibbs.
References
External links
New England Patriots bio*Pro Football Hall of Fame
Member profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haynes, Mike
1953 births
Living people
African-American players of American football
American Conference Pro Bowl players
American football cornerbacks
Arizona State Sun Devils football players
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
Los Angeles Raiders players
National Football League Defensive Rookie of the Year Award winners
New England Patriots players
People from Denison, Texas
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American sportspeople
National Football League players with retired numbers