John Joseph Byrne was born in West Horsley in Surrey and played non-league football with Epson Town and Guildford City Youth, before signing a professional contract with Crystal Palace in May 1956. The goalscoring centre-forward with silky skills made his debut in October against Swindon Town. His early years at Selhurst Park saw Palace struggle but their fortunes improved and in 1960-61 his 30 goals helped them win promotion from Division Four.

In 1961 'The Big Book of Football Champions' proclaimed 'The discovery of the season: Johnny Byrne of Crystal Palace, the only Fourth Division player to gain international honours'. This statement was in recognition to Byrne winning an England Under-23 cap. By the end of the season, 'The Glaziers', as they were known then, were runners-up in the old Fourth Division and were promoted to the Third Division.

As a Third Division player 'Budgie' - nicknamed for his ceaseless chatter on the field - earned his first full international cap against Northern Ireland at Wembley in November 1961. The elevation to international recognition drew huge admiration and he inevitably became a target for the bigger clubs, including West Ham United.

In March 1962, after six seasons with the south London club, making 220 appearances and scored 95 goals Ron Greenwood paid a British record transfer of £65,000 for Byrne, the fee being made up of £58,000 plus ex-Palace inside-forward Ron Brett valued at £7,000.

Nine days later, Byrne made his Hammers debut at Hillsborough against Sheffield Wednesday in a 0-0 draw. Scored only once in the remaining eleven games of his first season, against Cardiff City in a 4-1 win. However, his strike ratio for the Hammers' would speak for itself, with a better than a goal every other game.

‘Budgie’ won an FA Cup winners medal and Hammer of the Year in 1964. He missed out on place in the victorious 1955 European Cup Winners Cup side due to a knee injury. In his time at the Boleyn Ground ‘Budgie’ was awarded ten England caps and was also tagged the ‘English Di Stefano’ by West Ham manager Ron Greenwood. After making 206 appearances and scored 108 goals he returned to Crystal Palace on 17 February 1967 for a £45,000 fee, not a bad return for six seasons.

Now past his best ‘Budgie’ made a further 39 appearances for the south Londoners before joining Fulham in March 1968 for only £18,000. At Craven Cottage he played as a half-back, recording 19 games before moving to South Africa in June 1969 to sign for Durban City where he played in 69 league games and scored 22 goals. He later became their manager and then in 1973 he joined Hellenic as manager where he spent 22 years with them before being sacked in October 1995.

 

Born: 13 May 1939, West Horsley, Surrey - Died: 27 October 1999, Cape Town, South Africa  (aged 60)

West Ham United Career: 1961-1967, Appearances: 206, Goals: 108

International: England (10 caps), England Under-23 (1 cap), England Inter-League (2 caps), Inter-League (4 caps)

Individual honours: FA Cup Winner (1964), Hammer of the Year (1964). Charity Shield (1965), Football League Cup Runners-up (1966).