John Henry Hayes

Harry Hayes was the son of English immigrants who had travelled to Argentina on a coal ship. He was born in the Arroyito district of Rosario in 1891. As a child he attended games at the Rosario Central and dreamed of becoming a footballer. In his youth, Hayes played for Club Gimnasia y Esgrima de Rosario. In 1905, he moved to Rosario Central at only 14 years old. In 1906, he made his debut with the senior squad, where he remained until his retirement in 1926.

In 1910, Hayes made his debut for Argentina, in the 1910 South American Championship (named Copa Centenario Revolución de Mayo, held as part of the celebrations of the Argentina Centennial), where he debuted scoring to Chile. Hayes (the second player in Rosario Central's history to be called up for Argentina after Zenón Díaz) went on to play 25 games for his country, scoring 9 goals, being also part of the Argentina squad for the 1916 South American Championship, the first official national team competition in the continent.

Hayes was acknowledged for being an extraordinary scorer with a strong shot, dribbling ability, and precision for short passes.

Hayes' brother Ennis was also a notable footballer for Rosario Central and Argentina, and his son Enrique Ricardo (also commonly called "Harry") played for Rosario Central in the 1930s and 40s. Alumni's legend Jorge Brown once invited Hayes to join his team, but Hayes declined the offer stating that "Thank you, Jorge, but I can’t leave Rosario Central. I live for this club", which granted him a congratulation from Brown, who replied "I would’ve done the same for Alumni". During an interview with El Gráfico in 1961, Hayes said about football: "I don’t like what I’ve seen in recent years. It’s all about not losing, and that ruins the game".