Johnny Byrne (footballer)
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | John Joseph Byrne | ||
Date of birth | 13 May 1939 | ||
Place of birth | West Horsley, Surrey, England | ||
Date of death | 27 October 1999 | (aged 60)||
Place of death | Cape Town, South Africa | ||
Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.74 m)[1] | ||
Position(s) | Striker | ||
Youth career | |||
Epsom Town | |||
Guildford City | |||
Crystal Palace | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1956–1962 | Crystal Palace | 203 | (85) |
1962–1967 | West Ham United | 156 | (79) |
1967–1968 | Crystal Palace | 36 | (5) |
1968–1969 | Fulham | 19 | (2) |
1969–1973 | Durban City | 69 | (22) |
1980 | Hellenic | 1 | (0) |
Total | 484 | (193) | |
International career | |||
1961–1962 |
England under-23 | 7 | (4) |
1961–1965 | England | 11 | (8) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
John Joseph Byrne (13 May 1939 – 27 October 1999) was an English professional footballer who played as a striker. He was nicknamed "Budgie" due to his constant chattering.[2]
He played non-league football for
He won seven caps for the
Early life
John Joseph Byrne was born in West Horsley, Surrey, to Irish immigrants on 13 May 1939 [3] and he attended nearby Howard of Effingham School[4] As a youth player he represented Epsom Town and Guildford City Youth, though it was his schoolteacher Vincent Blore,[5] a former Crystal Palace and West Ham United player, who alerted Crystal Palace manager Cyril Spiers to Byrne's talents.[6] Whilst working as an apprentice toolmaker at the age of 15, Byrne attended four trials at Selhurst Park before being signed onto the ground staff.
Club career
Crystal Palace
Byrne made 14 appearances for Crystal Palace during the 1956–57 season, scoring once as the "Glaziers" finished 20th in the Third Division South.[7] He signed a professional contract on his 17th birthday in 1956,[8] and made his debut in October of that year.[5] He scored seven times in 28 matches in the 1957–58 season,[9] as Palace finished in 14th place.[7] He scored 17 goals in 45 matches in the 1958–59 season,[10] in which the club became founder members of the Fourth Division and new manager George Smith led the "Glaziers" to a seventh-place finish. In 1959–60 Byrne scored 16 times in 42 matches as Palace finished eighth in Division Four.[11][12] He requested a transfer, and an asking price of £20,000 was demanded by the club.[12] On 15 October 1959, he scored two goals as Palace recorded a club record 9–0 victory over Barrow.[13]
After a steady first two seasons, Byrne became a first team regular, and was popular with the Palace fans. In the 1960–61 season, Byrne scored 30[5] of Palace's 110 goals (his strike partner Roy Summersby netted 25), as Palace reached the Third Division. He left Palace having scored 96 goals, then a post-war record.[citation needed]
West Ham United
Following this, he did not stay a Third Division player for long, and the
The
The
In the
Return to Crystal Palace
Byrne left West Ham in February 1967, returning to Crystal Palace for £45,000.[5] scoring one goal (14 appearances) in his first season back[23] and four goals in 22 appearances in 1967–68.[24] This took his total for Palace to over 100 goals putting him 4th on Palace's all-time scorers list at the time.[citation needed] Palace were now in the Second Division but Byrne was past his peak as a player,[5] and after only a year with the club was transferred to Fulham for £25,000 in March 1968.[5]
Fulham
Byrne's time at
South Africa
Byrne played for Fulham for only one full season before moving to South Africa, to play for the now defunct Durban City, alongside some of his former Fulham teammates, such as Johnny Haynes.
He became manager of
International career
Byrne played for England at both youth and
In November 1961 Byrne was called up to the England team, despite playing outside the top two divisions at the time, one of only five post-war players to achieve this.[25] Byrne played the whole of the 1–1 draw against Northern Ireland, part of the 1962 British Home Championship, at Wembley Stadium.
He was a strong candidate to be selected for the 1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile, but he was shunned by the Football Association's selectors after getting involved in a confrontation with former England favourite Don Howe in a league match at The Hawthorns.[26]
He got his first (and second) England goal in the 1–8 win over Switzerland. On 16 May 1964, possibly Byrne's greatest achievement came, as he scored a hat-trick, in Lisbon, in England's 4–3 win over a Portugal team that included Eusébio.[27] He missed out on a place in the eventually victorious England squad, at the 1966 FIFA World Cup.
Personal life
Byrne married Margaret when he was 18 years old.[7]
He died suddenly following a heart attack in Cape Town on 27 October 1999, aged 60.[2]
His son Mark played for Hellenic and
Honours
West Ham United
References
- ^ a b "Johnny Byrne". englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
- ^ a b c "John 'Budgie' Byrne". The Guardian. 12 November 1999. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
- ^ Belton 2004, p. 16
- ^ "England Football Online- Johnny Byrne". England Football Online. 30 September 2013.
- ^ ISBN 0907969542.
- ^ Belton 2004, p. 18
- ^ a b c Belton 2004, p. 21
- ^ "Johnny Byrne Palace legend who outclassed Eusebio". mirrorfootball.co.uk. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
- ISBN 0907969542.
- ISBN 0907969542.
- ISBN 0907969542.
- ^ a b c Belton 2004, p. 23
- ^ Belton 2004, p. 24
- ^ "Alf Ramsey Picks The Team: Budgie's 1964". Wordpress.com. 30 December 2008. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
- ^ a b c d e "Welcome to the Wonderful World of West Ham United Statistics – Johnny Byrne". westhamstats.info. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
- ^ "1st Division 1962–63". westhamstats.info. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
- ^ "Game played on 02 May 1964". westhamstats.info. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
- ^ "FA Cup Final 1964 – Preston 2 West Ham 3". football-england.com. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
- ^ "Game played on 15 Aug 1964". westhamstats.info. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
- ^ "Zaragoza head pre-season plans". West Ham United F.C. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
- ^ "1965–66 League Cup". statto.com. Archived from the original on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
- ^ "1st Division 1965–66". westhamstats.info. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
- ISBN 0907969542.
- ISBN 0907969542.
- Peter Taylor, 4 caps while playing for Crystal Palace in 1975–76 and Steve Bull, 2 caps while playing for Wolverhampton Wanderersin 1988–89.
- ^ Belton 2004, p. 14
- ^ "Portugal v England, 17 May 1964". 11v11.com. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
- ^ "RIP Mark Byrne". 8 August 2021.
- ^ "West Ham United 3 Preston North End 2". WHUFC. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
- ^ "Liverpool 2-2 West Ham United". LFC History. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
Sources
- Belton, Brian (2004), Burn Budgie Byrne: Football Inferno, Breedon Books, ISBN 1-85983-392-6