Sir Jack Hayward: 10 years on from the death of a Wolves legend

Today marks 10 years since the sad passing of the local lad who lived the dream of owning his football club - and he did it with grace and humility.

He bought Wolves in 1990 and found his club on their knees. Molineux was falling apart and they had no training ground to speak of.

Over the next 17 years he invested more than £70million into rebuilding Molineux, restoring the club's infrastructure and setting them up for success - as he sought a return to the glory days of the 1950's that he lived through as a young man.

He was an eccentric, left his mark on everyone he met and was proud to hail from Wolverhampton. He instilled that same pride in the club he loved and is remembered as a club legend.

He was generous, kind and witty and yet retained the ruthless streak that saw him ranked as Britain's 501st wealthiest man, with a personal fortune estimated at £160 million.

After years of rebuilding the team Wolves came close to achieving their dream, which they eventually realised as they finally reached the Premier League, with a 3-0 win over Sheffield United at the Millennium Stadium in 2003.

Although Wolves managed just one season in the top flight before returning several years later after Hayward had sold the club, it is fitting that the statue remembering Hayward outside Molineux immortalises his 'thumbs up' pose from that famous day in Cardiff.

As a founding member of the Football League Wolves are fortunate to have many club greats - and Hayward's selfless acts see him sit up there with the very best. They do not make them like Sir Jack anymore.

His final act as chairman was to sell Wolves to Steve Morgan for a measly £10, with the promise that £30million would be invested in club.

Even as he departed the football club - in a much better state than he found them - he wanted to see Wolves benefit from the sale before himself. 

One of his final public messages before his death in 2015 aged 91, read: 'glad to have helped'. Understated and gentlemanly - just like the man himself.

Put simply, the football club we see before us now - who beat Manchester United at Molineux just two weeks ago - would not be here without him.

Under Morgan's ownership the club did enjoy three seasons in the top flight before tumbling to League One before recovering to the Championship, shortly before Wolves were sold to Fosun in 2016.

The current owners have taken the club back to the Premier League and Wolves are now in their seventh consecutive season in the best league in the world.

Back-to-back seventh-placed finishes and a place in the Europa League quarter-finals saw Wolves enjoy their most successful period in the modern era.

There has been growing discontent among supporters towards the owners, but Wolves are also undoubtedly in their most successful spell for some time, and Hayward's tireless work over 17 years laid the foundation for that success.

With that time as owner, alongside his charitable endeavours and determination to help the city of Wolverhampton, we all owe a debt to Sir Jack. 

"A lot of everything he laid in place lives on today," former Wolves managing director Laurie Dalrymple said in 2018 at the unveiling of Sir Jack's statue.

"If you wind the clock back two years to the key characteristics and attributes Fosun wanted, they wanted a club with a very strong fanbase anchored into its community and with a solid infrastructure and facilities.

"He built and laid all of these foundations.

“It was Sir Jack’s lifelong mission to see his hometown club in the top flight of English football. How proud he would be to see us back there today."

Wolves now fight it out with the very best thanks to Sir Jack.

He bought the club for just £2.11million and spent tens of millions bringing his club back from the brink.

Away from football, he was an eccentric, charismatic, friendly and emotional person with a deep affinity for his city and club.

Truly one of a kind, his passing was a great loss to Wolverhampton in 2015, yet his legacy lives on.

Wolves, as a club, belongs at the top and Sir Jack deserves to be recognised with the very best. He is sorely missed and 10 years on, his influence is still felt at this great club.