Johnny Haynes - The Maestro of Craven Cottage

October 17th, 1934 is the anniversary of the birth of one of the greatest footballers England has ever produced.

Nicknamed the Maestro, Johnny Haynes was a celebrated English footballer, known for his exceptional skills as a midfielder and his time at Fulham FC, where he became a club legend. 

He was born in North-West London’s Kentish Town, his father was a post office engineer and he was a supporter of his local side Arsenal as a boy.

He played for Fulham from 1952 to 1965 and earned 56 caps for the England national team. Johnny was renowned for his vision, passing ability, and leadership on the pitch, often being regarded as one of the best players of his era. 

My own father was a passionate Fulham supporter and even living through the likes of seeing Bobby Moore and George Best putting on the white shirt of the “Cottagers”, he maintained the opinion that Haynes was the greatest player to ever grace the Craven Cottage turf.

After retiring from professional football, Johnny remained involved in the sport in various capacities, but moved to Scotland (the home of his future wife Avril) where they ran a laundry business. He loved a round of golf and watching Heart of Midlothian playing at Tynecastle.

He died the day after his 71st birthday suffering a brain haemorrhage whilst driving and swerving across the road directly crashing into a van. After being kept on a ventilator for 30 hours, it was decided to turn it off on the evening of 18th October 2005.