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.
He played non-league football for Epsom Town and Guildford City Youth, before signing a professional contract with Crystal Palace in 1956. He joined West Ham United in 1962, and spent the next five years with the "Hammers". He returned to Crystal Palace in 1967, before joining Fulham the following year. He emigrated to South Africa in 1969 and spent four years with Durban City. He went on to coach in South Africa for many years, and turned out as a player for Hellenic in 1980.
He won seven caps for the England under-23 team, before scoring eight goals in eleven full England internationals between 1961 and 1965.
Early life
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 his schoolteacher 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.
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. 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 made up of £58,000 plus ex-Palace striker Ron Brett who was valued at £7,000. Byrne's debut came on 17 March 1962 in a 0–0 draw at Hillsborough against Sheffield Wednesday. He played eleven games in his first season, scoring a single goal, in a 4–1 home win against Cardiff City, in April 1962.
The 1962–63 season saw him score 14 goals in all competitions, only one behind leading scorer Geoff Hurst. In the 1963–64 season he beat Bobby Moore, who finished second, to the "Hammer of the Year" award for the season, as West Ham won the FA Cup. Byrne had amassed 33 goals from 45 games in all competitions for this season overtaking Hurst as top goalscorer. This included FA Cup goals in the fourth round against Leyton Orient, the fifth round against Swindon Town and two in the sixth round against Burnley.
The 1964–65 season saw West Ham playing in both the 1964 Charity Shield and in European football having won the previous year's FA Cup. West Ham and 1963–64 league champions, Liverpool, shared the Charity Shield having drawn the game at Anfield, 2–2 with Byrne scoring one of the West Ham goals. In Europe West Ham competed in the 1964–65 European Cup Winners' Cup. Byrne scored in the first round against La Gantoise, the third round against Lausanne and a goal in the semi-finals against Real Zaragoza. Unfortunately, for Byrne, he was injured in the England-Scotland match a few weeks earlier and did not play in the final against Munich 1860 at Wembley Stadium which West Ham won 2–0