Sir Jack Arnold Hayward was an English businessman, property developer, philanthropist, and president of English football club Wolverhampton Wanderers.
24 Facts About Jack Hayward
1.
2.
The only son of Charles William Hayward, an industrialist, and his wife, Hayward was born in the Whitmore Reans area of Wolverhampton.
3.
Jack Hayward was educated at Northaw Preparatory School and later Stowe School in Buckinghamshire.
4.
Jack Hayward received flight training in Yorkshire and Clewiston, Florida, in the United States.
5.
Jack Hayward served first as a pilot officer in 671 Squadron operating under South East Asia Command in India, flying Dakota transporter aircraft for the supply of the 14th Army in Burma.
6.
Jack Hayward's father began the family involvement with the Bahamas during the 1950s, after relocating his business from the United States.
7.
Jack Hayward arrived in Grand Bahama in 1956 and became a vice-president of the Grand Bahama Port Authority, which helped promote the development of Freeport.
8.
Jack Hayward took over his father's interests in the Bahamas and continued to play an active role in Freeport.
9.
Jack Hayward became a supporter of Wolverhampton Wanderers as a young child in the late 1920s.
10.
When Wolves went into receivership later that year, Jack Hayward was reportedly behind one of the offers being tabled to save the club, but it was ultimately bought by the Bhatti brothers in an unsuccessful rescue attempt fronted by former Wolves player Derek Dougan.
11.
Jack Hayward's reign saw seven different managers employ his resources in attempts to make the club a top-flight side.
12.
Jack Hayward had originally offered the club for sale in September 2003, but had struggled to find suitable takers.
13.
Jack Hayward remained the life president of Wolverhampton Wanderers and was later inducted into the club's Hall of Fame.
14.
Jack Hayward appeared in the 1970 BBC Chronicle programme; "The Great Iron Ship" which documented the recovery and subsequent voyage of the SS Great Britain from the Falklands to Bristol.
15.
Jack Hayward was a donor to the Liberal Party in the 1970s, having met its leader Jeremy Thorpe in 1969.
16.
Jack Hayward backed the party in the October 1974 general election, enabling Thorpe to travel around the coast by hovercraft on speaking tours and the party to field a record number of parliamentary candidates, although only 13 were returned as MPs.
17.
In 1979, he gave evidence for the Crown in court when Thorpe was implicated in the affair, letters from Thorpe that Jack Hayward had kept being among the exhibits.
18.
Jack Hayward imported 10 red London buses to Freeport and was permitted by the General Post Office to install British-style red telephone and pillar boxes.
19.
Jack Hayward banned non-British vehicles from his estate in Sussex and refused to drink French wine or mineral water.
20.
Jack Hayward married Jean Mary Forder in 1948 and had two sons and a daughter.
21.
Jack Hayward was awarded the freedom of the City of Wolverhampton on 9 July 2003.
22.
Jack Hayward died on 13 January 2015 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, aged 91.
23.
Jack Hayward had campaigned for its building for 10 years before it was launched with a contract signing ceremony in May 2014 at which he was present.
24.
The South Bank of Molineux, known as the Jack Harris Stand at the time, was renamed the Sir Jack Hayward Stand after his death.