Johnny Byrne

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. He signed a professional contract on his 17th birthday in 1956, and made his debut in October of that year. He scored seven times in 28 matches in the 1957–58 season, as Palace finished in 14th place. He scored 17 goals in 45 matches in the 1958–59 season, 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. He requested a transfer, and an asking price of £20,000 was demanded by the club. On 15 October 1959, he scored two goals as Palace recorded a club record 9–0 victory over Barrow. 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 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.

West Ham United

Following this, he did not stay a Third Division player for long, and the First Division beckoned, as Ron Greenwood paid a Second Division British record transfer fee of £65,000 to take "Budgie" to West Ham United in 1962. Greenwood would later compare Byrne with Argentine footballer, Alfredo Di Stéfano. The fee being…

Byrne played for England at both youth and under-23 levels. He became the first Fourth Division player to win a cap for the under-23 side. 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. 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. 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. He missed out on a place in the eventually victorious England squad, at the 1966 FIFA World Cup.

John Joseph Byrne was born in West Horsley, Surrey, to Irish immigrants on 13 May 1939 and he attended nearby Howard of Effingham School As a youth player he represented Epsom Town and Guildford City Youth, though it was Vincent Blore, a former Crystal Palace and West Ham United player, who alerted Crystal Palace manager Cyril Spiers to Byrne's talents. 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.

Byrne married Margaret when he was 18 years old. He died suddenly following a heart attack in Cape Town on 27 October 1999, aged 60. His son Mark played for Hellenic and Cape Town Spurs. Later he was president of Hellenic. He died in 2021.