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 lea ...

who played as a full back for

Walsall Town Swifts Walsall Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Walsall, West Midlands, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. The club's nickname, "The Saddlers", reflec ...

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

Small Heath Small Heath is an inner-city area in south-east Birmingham, West Midlands (county), 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 t ...

and

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

in the 1890s.

Career

Midlands

Haynes was born in

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

and after playing his club football with Walsall Unity, he joined

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 tier ...

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

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

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) 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, Aston Villa and Burnley. After r ...

came through from the

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...

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 In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

; his pairing with

Samuel Meston Samuel Meston (16 January 1872 – 14 August 1948) was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a half-back for Stoke and Southampton. Whilst with Southampton, he appeared in two FA Cup Finals and won six Southern League championship m ...

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 Thomas Nicol (24 February 1870 – 10 June 1915) was a Scottish footballer who played for Burnley first as a centre forward and then as a full back in the 1890s, before later becoming a bowls champion in Southampton. Football career Burnley N ...

, with Meston moving to

right half In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. 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 The FA Cup semi-finals are played to determine which teams will contest the FA Cup Final. They are the penultimate phase of the FA Cup, the oldest football tournament in the world. Location The semi-finals have always been contested at neutra ...

, where they were defeated by

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

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 Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

, 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 Peter Durber (8 May 1873 – 16 March 1963) was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Glossop North End and Stoke. He played in the Southern League for Southampton with whom he played in the 1900 FA Cup Final, beating th ...

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