Born in Jacksonville, Florida, on August 6, 1948, Haywood attended high school at Matthew W. Gilbert, becoming one of three Gilbert attendees to play professionally.[1] A two-sport star in baseball and football, he was offered professional baseball contracts from the Boston Braves and St. Louis Cardinals upon graduating high school.[2] He opted to attend college, going to Bethune–Cookman University, serving as running back and kicker for their football team while playing catcher and slugger for their baseball team.[2] He recorded 2,232 rushing yards and 1,411 receiving yards as the team's starting running back, and set a school record 52-yard field goal in 1970.[2] He earned All-Conference honors in three consecutive years.[2] He was described as "one of the best running backs in Bethune-Cookman College football history."[2] In baseball, he had a .588 batting average, including 5 runs batted in and a home run.[2]
Professional career
After going unselected in the 1971 NFL draft, Haywood was given nine offers to play in the National Football League (NFL), the largest totaling over $125,000.[2] He turned down the offers to pursue a career in professional baseball,[3][4] saying "baseball was always my first love, even in high school. This was a very hard decision, because football is very much a part of me but baseball is in my heart."[2] However, he was not signed in baseball and shortly afterwards accepted an offer by the Miami Dolphins to play football. He was released during training camp.[5]
In 1974, after being out of football for two seasons, Haywood was signed to play for the Jacksonville Sharks of the newly formed World Football League (WFL). With the Sharks, he appeared in three games as a halfback, recording 20 rushes for 111 yards and 35 receiving yards on 7 receptions.[6] He scored two touchdowns and also recorded one 1-point conversion.
When the Sharks folded in 1975, he joined the Jacksonville Express. He was their starting running back/fullback, appearing in 11 games. In a game against the San Antonio Wings, Haywood scored a game-winning 15-yard touchdown in overtime to win, 26–19.[7] In a game vs. the Shreveport Steamer, he recorded over 120 yards to help his team win, 22–15.[8] He finished the season with 131 rushes for 687 yards and 4 scores. As a receiver he scored two touchdowns on 12 receptions for 131 yards, with a long of 37.[6]
