Jack Hayward

Sir Jack Arnold Hayward OBE ( born June 14, 1923 in Wolverhampton ) is a British businessman and, above all, as former Chairman, owner and patron of the English football club Wolverhampton Wanderers known. The contractor, whose assets the Sunday Times in 2008 estimated at 160 million pounds, after his retirement from business operations in 2006, " President for Life " at the Wolves.

Private and business man

Born in Wolverhampton Jack Hayward first attended the Northaw Preparatory School and later Stowe School - a prestigious private school in Buckingham. During World War II he served from 1941 in the Royal Air Force and was trained in Clewiston, Florida to the pilot. During the war he flew for the use of 671 Southeast Asian fighting squadron and left the unit in 1946 as a lieutenant.

His father Sir Charles Hayward CBE built in the 1950s to new business activities in the Bahamas, which at that time belonged to the British Empire. As Jack Hayward in 1956 came in the town of Grand Bahama to the family, he became Vice President of the local port authority and was instrumental in the establishment of the Free Trade Area Freeport. Later, he took over his father's business and has been involved to date in building projects in Freeport. There was named after him with the " Jack Hayward High School ", a school.

Hayward funded the purchase of the island of Lundy and handed them over to the National Trust. In addition, he donated money for restoration work on the first iron ship, the SS Great Britain. For his charitable activities beat him Elizabeth II knighted in 1986, after he had in 1968 received the Order of the British Empire as " OBE ". His charity projects continue to include repair work on "King Edward VII Memorial Hospital " in the Falkland Islands.

Prior to his commitment to the " Wolves ", he joined as a sponsor for the English women's cricket team in appearance. He financed the tours of the West Indies in the season 1969/70 to 1970 /71. To this end he supported 1973 the first Women's Cricket World Cup, which took place two years before even a men 's World Cup.

Jack Hayward has with Rick and Jonathan two sons, who were both active in the Wolves for him. Jonathan Hayward, whose continued commitment from 1990 to 1997, was accused in 1999 of his father in a nationally publicized court cases of misappropriation of 237,400 pounds - both parties later agreed out of court. The elder son Rick in 2003 took over from his father, the board of the Club, but resigned in 2006 back from this post. After the takeover of the club by Steve Morgan called this Jack Hayward's grandson Rupert on a directorship, but this remained only a year in its function.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

In May 1990, Jack Hayward bought the football club Wolverhampton Wanderers for 2.1 million pounds of the Gallagher Estates on, became the sole owner of the club, which he had already appended since childhood, and took over the position of CEO. One of his first acts was that he took his son Jonathan and the former player legend Billy Wright to the Board of Directors. During his 17 years of reign, he invested large sums of his personal fortune in the reconstruction of the Molineux Stadium, and with another player purchases and infrastructure spending, spending added according to media reports, an estimated 40 million pounds - the span of the related conjecture ranges from 20 to 60 million pounds. Opened in 2005 as the training ground wearing " Sir Jack Hayward Way " from 2003 (formerly " Molineux Way " ) near the Molineux stadium his name.

The long-term goal is to establish the club back to a leading English football clubs, he succeeded only partially. He employed seven different coaches and helped the " Wolves " only for a season in the Premier League ( 2003/ 04). Nevertheless, he managed to commit some players who were without his help beyond the financial resources of most non-investment grade English clubs. But in his role as patron of connected home he stabilized the in the 1980s, threatened yet with the full from club and gained thereby a high degree of recognition. After the search for a new owner had been in vain in September 2003, he handed over after his resignation as chairman in 2006, in August 2007 finally the club fortunes for the symbolic sum of ten pounds - coupled with a commitment to invest £ 30 million - to the businessman Steve Morgan.

Although Hayward since not belong to any club more body, it stays for life, honorary president of the " Wolves ".