Michael James Haynes (born July 1, 1953) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

in the

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(NFL) for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

and the

Los Angeles Raiders The Los Angeles Raiders were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). The Raiders played in Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994 before relocating back to Oakland, California, where the team played from its inaugural ...

. Regarded as one of the greatest cornerbacks of all time, he used his speed, physicality, quickness and range to become both an elite defensive back and an outstanding

punt returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punt (gridiron football), punts and kickoff (gridiron football), kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusivel ...

. Haynes was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

in 2000 and the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...

in 1997. He was also named to the

NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team The National Football League 75th Anniversary All-Time Team was chosen by a selection committee of media and league personnel in 1994 to honor the greatest players of the first 75 years of the National Football League (NFL). Five players on the l ...

in 1994, as well the

NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team The National Football League 100th Anniversary All-Time Team was voted on by a panel consisting of media members, former players and league personnel in 2019 to honor the greatest players of the first 100 years of the National Football League (NFL ...

in 2019 for his accomplishments during his 14-year career. Voted NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year 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 (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

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 five consecutive from 1976 to 1980). He was also named to the

NFL 1980s All-Decade Team The NFL 1980s All-Decade Team was chosen by voters of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The team was composed of outstanding performers in the National Football League in the 1980s. The squad consists of first- and second-team offensive, defensive and ...

. His younger brother Reggie was a tight end for the

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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

Early life

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

at John Marshall High School in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. 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 (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

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 gr ...

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, 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, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington. Due to ...

selection, and a two-time

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

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

Professional career

New England Patriots

Haynes was selected in the first round in the

1976 NFL draft The 1976 NFL draft was an annual player selection meeting held April 8–9, 1976, at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City, New York. The draft lasted 17 rounds, with the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks making the first two ...

by the

. 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, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

year with the Patriots with eight

interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, 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 ...

s, three fumble recoveries, and an AFC-leading 608 yards on 45

punt return Punt or punting may refer to: Boats * Punt (boat), a flat-bottomed boat with a square-cut bow developed on the River Thames * Falmouth Quay Punt, a small sailing vessel hired by ships anchored in Falmouth harbour * Norfolk Punt, a type of racing ...

s. That year, Haynes gave the Patriots their first-ever

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

s on punt returns with 89-yard and 62-yard returns. He earned a

invitation as a rookie, the first of nine Pro Bowl bids. He also won NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year 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 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 n ...

. 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 1983 Washington Redskins season, Washington Redskins and t ...

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.

general manager Bobby Beathard 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 is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

in 1984. Haynes finished that season with a league-leading 220 interception return yards. He also had 12 career fumble recoveries. Haynes was an

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

. In 1999, he was ranked number 93 on ''

The Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

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 NTP and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and N ...

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 American Conference Pro Bowl players American football cornerbacks Arizona State Sun Devils football players College Football Hall of Fame inductees Los Angeles Raiders players NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year winners New England Patriots players Sportspeople from Denison, Texas Players of American football from Grayson County, Texas Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen NFL players with retired numbers