Willie Haines
Encyclopedia
Wyndham William Pretoria "Willie" Haines (14 July 1900 – 5 November 1974) was an English footballer who played at centre-forward for south coast rivals, Portsmouth
and then Southampton
in the 1920s and 1930s.
in Wiltshire
and went to the local school at Sambourne where he was a member of the school football team. As a youth he played for Warminster Town
before joining Frome Town
in the Western League
, from where he joined Portsmouth
(then playing in the Football League Third Division South
) in December 1922.
, Haines made only six appearances, scoring three goals. In the following season, however, he displaced Alf Strange and became the first-choice centre-forward, scoring 28 goals from 30 league appearances, making him the division's top scorer as they won the Football League Third Division South
championship.
Haines was nicknamed "Farmers Boy" and became something of a legend at Fratton Park, where the Pompey fans would often voice their approval of his forward play with a rendition of the popular refrain "To be a farmer's boy". As a centre-forward he had a style of his own and, rather than dashing around the field, he preferred to play at a more leisurely pace. He seldom tried to strike the ball hard, but preferred to place it with "tantalising precision".
In Portsmouth's first season in the Second Division
, Haines shared the goal-scoring with Jerry Mackie
with both players scoring 17 goals as Pompey finished in a creditable fourth place in the table. Haines was top-scorer in the next two seasons with 20 goals in 1925–26 when Portsmouth finished in mid-table, and 40 goals from 42 appearances in 1926–27 as Pompey gained promotion to the First Division
as runners-up, squeezing out Manchester City
on goal average, by a margin of just 0.006. Haines's goal tally included a hat-trick
scored in a 9–1 victory over Notts County
on 9 April 1927 — this remains Portsmouth's record margin of victory. Going into the final match of the season, Portsmouth and Manchester City were on the same number of points with near identical goal averages. The match between Manchester City and Bradford City
had started before Portsmouth's match against Preston North End
and finished 8–0. At this time, Portsmouth were also winning 4–1 but needed to score one more goal to take the runners-up spot. Haines managed to score the vital goal in the final minutes of the game, thus sending Portsmouth up by the narrowest of margins.
For Portsmouth's first season in the top flight, Haines shared the goal-scoring with newly-recruited Jack Smith
, both scoring 11 goals, with fellow forwards David Watson and Welsh
international Fred Cook both contributing ten, as they narrowly avoided relegation, finishing in 20th place in the table. By the end of the season, Haines was out of favour with new manager Jack Tinn
who was building a team for the future with Jack Weddle
taking over the position of centre-forward.
In May 1928, Haines moved up the Solent
to join local rivals Southampton
. In his six seasons at Fratton Park, Haines scored 129 goals from 179 appearances in all competitions.
, and was an immediate success. On 3 November 1928, he scored four goals in an 8–2 victory over Blackpool
at The Dell — this was the first four-goal haul since the club had joined the Football League
in 1920. Haines' 16 goals were a major factor in the Saints finishing fourth in the Second Division table.
Haines was a "well-built country boy" who soon became as popular at The Dell as he had been at Fratton Park. Despite his build and power, he would often take penalties without a run-up.
In the following season, Haines was injured in September and lost his place at centre-forward to Dick Rowley
before returning to the side in February 1930. He marked his return by scoring five goals in the first three matches back and ended the season with 15 goals from 19 appearances. By now, manager Arthur Chadwick
was forced to sell players to improve the club's finances, and Rowley had been sold to Tottenham Hotspur
in February. At the time of his departure, Rowley had scored 25 goals from 25 league appearances and with him went Saints' last hopes of promotion, and they finished seventh in the table.
Haines missed the first half of the 1930–31 season because of injury, returning to the side on 27 December. Once back in the side, he embarked on a goal-scoring run with seven goals in his first four games and went on to become top scorer
for the club with 15 goals from 21 appearances.
In his final season at The Dell, Haines was plagued by injuries and was only able to make three appearances, with various players including Arthur Haddleton
and Johnny McIlwaine
unsuccessfully trying to replace him at centre-forward before the emergence of Ted Drake
from the reserves.
Haines retired in the summer of 1932, having scored a creditable 47 goals from 71 first-team appearances for the Saints.
with Weymouth
, for whom he scored 275 goals in 205 appearances.
, Somerset
which he ran until 1949. He later moved into the dry cleaning
business.
In 1960, he became the president of the Portsmouth Supporters Club.
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
and then Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
in the 1920s and 1930s.
Football career
Haines was born at Warminster CommonWarminster
Warminster is a town in western Wiltshire, England, by-passed by the A36, and near Frome and Westbury. It has a population of about 17,000. The River Were runs through the town and can be seen running through the middle of the town park. The Minster Church of St Denys sits on the River Were...
in Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
and went to the local school at Sambourne where he was a member of the school football team. As a youth he played for Warminster Town
Warminster Town F.C.
Warminster Town F.C. are a football club based in Warminster, Wiltshire, England.Warminster Town as a football club can be traced back to 1878 and with a short two year break between 1883/5 it has been in existence ever since...
before joining Frome Town
Frome Town F.C.
Frome Town Football Club is an English football club based Frome, a town in the county of Somerset. Founded in 1904, their nickname is the Robins and they play in a predominantly red kit. Their home is Badgers Hill, which has been the club's ground since their formation...
in the Western League
Western Football League
The Western Football League is a football league in the south west of England, covering Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, western Dorset, parts of Gloucestershire and Wiltshire and parts of South Wales...
, from where he joined Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
(then playing in the Football League Third Division South
Football League Third Division South
The Football League Third Division South was a level of English professional football which ran in parallel to Third Division North from 1921 to 1958....
) in December 1922.
Portsmouth
In his first season at Fratton ParkFratton Park
Fratton Park is a football stadium in the English city-port of Portsmouth. It has been the home of professional club Portsmouth F.C. since its construction in 1898.-Description:...
, Haines made only six appearances, scoring three goals. In the following season, however, he displaced Alf Strange and became the first-choice centre-forward, scoring 28 goals from 30 league appearances, making him the division's top scorer as they won the Football League Third Division South
Football League Third Division South
The Football League Third Division South was a level of English professional football which ran in parallel to Third Division North from 1921 to 1958....
championship.
Haines was nicknamed "Farmers Boy" and became something of a legend at Fratton Park, where the Pompey fans would often voice their approval of his forward play with a rendition of the popular refrain "To be a farmer's boy". As a centre-forward he had a style of his own and, rather than dashing around the field, he preferred to play at a more leisurely pace. He seldom tried to strike the ball hard, but preferred to place it with "tantalising precision".
In Portsmouth's first season in the Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
, Haines shared the goal-scoring with Jerry Mackie
Jerry Mackie
James "Jerry" Mackie was a Scottish footballer who played at inside forward for south coast rivals, Portsmouth and then Southampton in the 1920s and 1930s.-Football career:...
with both players scoring 17 goals as Pompey finished in a creditable fourth place in the table. Haines was top-scorer in the next two seasons with 20 goals in 1925–26 when Portsmouth finished in mid-table, and 40 goals from 42 appearances in 1926–27 as Pompey gained promotion to the First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
as runners-up, squeezing out Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
on goal average, by a margin of just 0.006. Haines's goal tally included a hat-trick
Hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick in sport is the achievement of a positive feat three times during a game, or other achievements based on threes. The term was first used in 1858 in cricket to describe HH Stephenson's feat of taking three wickets in three balls. A collection was held for Stephenson, and he...
scored in a 9–1 victory over Notts County
Notts County F.C.
Notts County Football Club are an English professional football club based in Nottingham. They are the oldest of all the clubs in the world that are now professional, having been formed in 1862. They currently play in League One of The Football League, the third tier of the English football system...
on 9 April 1927 — this remains Portsmouth's record margin of victory. Going into the final match of the season, Portsmouth and Manchester City were on the same number of points with near identical goal averages. The match between Manchester City and Bradford City
Bradford City A.F.C.
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, playing in League Two....
had started before Portsmouth's match against Preston North End
Preston North End F.C.
Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One...
and finished 8–0. At this time, Portsmouth were also winning 4–1 but needed to score one more goal to take the runners-up spot. Haines managed to score the vital goal in the final minutes of the game, thus sending Portsmouth up by the narrowest of margins.
For Portsmouth's first season in the top flight, Haines shared the goal-scoring with newly-recruited Jack Smith
Jack Smith (footballer born 1898)
John William Smith, known as Jack Smith was an English international footballer, who played as an inside left.-Career:...
, both scoring 11 goals, with fellow forwards David Watson and Welsh
Wales national football team
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...
international Fred Cook both contributing ten, as they narrowly avoided relegation, finishing in 20th place in the table. By the end of the season, Haines was out of favour with new manager Jack Tinn
Jack Tinn
Jack Tinn was the manager of the English football club Portsmouth F.C. from 1927-1947. Under Tinn's stewardship Portsmouth won the FA Cup for the first time in their history when they beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-1 at Wembley in 1939. The FA Cup was kept safe under his bed throughout the war...
who was building a team for the future with Jack Weddle
Jack Weddle
John Robson "Jack" Weddle in Whitburn, South Tyneside was a former Portsmouth centre forward who played during the interwar and post war period. He is best remembered for Portsmouth's Cup run in the 1933/34 season, scoring a hat-trick against Birmingham in front of a 66,000-strong crowd to take...
taking over the position of centre-forward.
In May 1928, Haines moved up the Solent
Solent
The Solent is a strait separating the Isle of Wight from the mainland of England.The Solent is a major shipping route for passengers, freight and military vessels. It is an important recreational area for water sports, particularly yachting, hosting the Cowes Week sailing event annually...
to join local rivals Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
. In his six seasons at Fratton Park, Haines scored 129 goals from 179 appearances in all competitions.
Southampton
At Southampton, Haines joined a club which had been struggling financially and on the pitch. He linked up with his former Portsmouth colleague, Jerry MackieJerry Mackie
James "Jerry" Mackie was a Scottish footballer who played at inside forward for south coast rivals, Portsmouth and then Southampton in the 1920s and 1930s.-Football career:...
, and was an immediate success. On 3 November 1928, he scored four goals in an 8–2 victory over Blackpool
Blackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...
at The Dell — this was the first four-goal haul since the club had joined the Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
in 1920. Haines' 16 goals were a major factor in the Saints finishing fourth in the Second Division table.
Haines was a "well-built country boy" who soon became as popular at The Dell as he had been at Fratton Park. Despite his build and power, he would often take penalties without a run-up.
In the following season, Haines was injured in September and lost his place at centre-forward to Dick Rowley
Dick Rowley
Richard William Morris "Dick" Rowley was an Irish football Inside right who played for Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur and Preston North End, as well as representing the Irish national team.- Biography :...
before returning to the side in February 1930. He marked his return by scoring five goals in the first three matches back and ended the season with 15 goals from 19 appearances. By now, manager Arthur Chadwick
Arthur Chadwick
Arthur Chadwick was a professional footballer whose playing career included spells at Portsmouth and Southampton, before going on to be manager at Exeter City, Reading and Southampton...
was forced to sell players to improve the club's finances, and Rowley had been sold to Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
in February. At the time of his departure, Rowley had scored 25 goals from 25 league appearances and with him went Saints' last hopes of promotion, and they finished seventh in the table.
Haines missed the first half of the 1930–31 season because of injury, returning to the side on 27 December. Once back in the side, he embarked on a goal-scoring run with seven goals in his first four games and went on to become top scorer
Southampton F.C. seasons
This is a list of seasons played by Southampton Football Club in English and European football, from 1892 to the most recent completed season. The first six seasons are Southampton St. Mary's....
for the club with 15 goals from 21 appearances.
In his final season at The Dell, Haines was plagued by injuries and was only able to make three appearances, with various players including Arthur Haddleton
Arthur Haddleton
Arthur Haddleton was an English footballer who played as a centre forward for various clubs in the 1930s. Despite showing promise in the early part of his career, he eventually achieved very little, although he did score in eight consecutive matches in 1931.-Early days:Haddleton was born in...
and Johnny McIlwaine
Johnny McIlwaine
John "Johnny" McIlwaine was a Scottish footballer who played as a centre half for Portsmouth, where he captained the team in the 1929 FA Cup Final, before moving to south coast rivals Southampton...
unsuccessfully trying to replace him at centre-forward before the emergence of Ted Drake
Ted Drake
Edward Joseph "Ted" Drake was an English football player and manager. As a player, he first played for Southampton but made his name playing for Arsenal in the 1930s, winning two league titles and an FA Cup, as well as five caps for England. He was also a cricketer, but only ever played sparingly...
from the reserves.
Haines retired in the summer of 1932, having scored a creditable 47 goals from 71 first-team appearances for the Saints.
Weymouth
In September 1932, he returned to the Western LeagueWestern Football League
The Western Football League is a football league in the south west of England, covering Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, western Dorset, parts of Gloucestershire and Wiltshire and parts of South Wales...
with Weymouth
Weymouth F.C.
Weymouth F.C. are an English football club based in the town of Weymouth, who currently play in the Southern League Premier Division.-History:Weymouth Football Club were founded in 1890 and played their first game on 24 September of that year...
, for whom he scored 275 goals in 205 appearances.
Life after football
In 1935, Haines had become the landlord of the Vine Inn, FromeFrome
Frome is a town and civil parish in northeast Somerset, England. Located at the eastern end of the Mendip Hills, the town is built on uneven high ground, and centres around the River Frome. The town is approximately south of Bath, east of the county town, Taunton and west of London. In the 2001...
, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
which he ran until 1949. He later moved into the dry cleaning
Dry cleaning
Dry cleaning is any cleaning process for clothing and textiles using a chemical solvent other than water. The solvent used is typically tetrachloroethylene , abbreviated "perc" in the industry and "dry-cleaning fluid" by the public...
business.
In 1960, he became the president of the Portsmouth Supporters Club.
Honours
PortsmouthPortsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
- Football League Third Division SouthFootball League Third Division SouthThe Football League Third Division South was a level of English professional football which ran in parallel to Third Division North from 1921 to 1958....
championship: 1923-24 - Football League Second DivisionFootball League Second DivisionFrom 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
runners-up: 1926–27