Robert D. Hayward (October 28, 1927 - September 10, 1961) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

powerboat racer who was a three-time winner of the

Harmsworth Cup The Harmsworth Cup, popularly known as the Harmsworth Trophy, is a historically important British international trophy for motorboats. History The Harmsworth was the first annual international award for motorboat racing. Officially, it is a cont ...

as the pilot of '' Miss Supertest III''. From Embro, Ontario, Hayward was raised on his family's chicken farm and joined the Supertest racing team as a mechanic in 1957. Piloting ''Miss Supertest III'', Hayward won the

in 1959, 1960, and 1961. A month after winning his third Harmsworth Cup, Hayward was killed while racing ''Miss Supertest II'' at the Silver Cup regatta on the Detroit River. The boat flipped over at 175 mph, breaking Hayward's neck. He was 33 years old. After his death, the Supertest team retired from racing. Hayward was inducted in the

Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame The Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame (CMHF) is a hall of fame run by the Canadian Motorsport Heritage Foundation as a not-for-profit charitable institution that "honours and recognizes the achievements of individuals and institutions that have ma ...

in 2000. A

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London, Ontario London is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River (Ontario), Thames River and N ...

, where he lived at the time of his death, is named after him. A stretch of water at the

Bay of Quinte The Bay of Quinte () is a long, narrow bay shaped like the letter "Z" on the northern shore of Lake Ontario in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is just west of the head of the Saint Lawrence River that drains the Great Lakes into the Gulf of ...

near

Deseronto, Ontario Deseronto is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, in Hastings County, located at the mouth of the Napanee River on the shore of the Bay of Quinte, on the northern side of Lake Ontario. It is located 5 km from Highway 401, is the east ...

is known as ''Hayward Long Reach''. Hayward was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1960.

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issued a commemorative stamp in 2011 honouring the hydroplane racingboat ''Miss Supertest III'', her driver Bob Hayward and businessman Jim Thompson, who designed and built her. Thistle Theatre, a community theatre company, in Hayward's home town of Embro, ON, put on an original play about his life, racing and death. Shows occurred in March 2024.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayward, Bob 1927 births 1961 deaths Missing middle or first names Motorboat racers who died while racing Sportspeople from Oxford County, Ontario Place of birth missing Sports deaths in Michigan