[6] After a trial in which he and Gresley team-mate Tommy Robinson played for Birmingham's Combination side, both signed professional forms for the Football League First Division club in January 1929.
[11] It was a year until he made his first-team debut: having been until then restricted to third-team football, he stood in for the injured Joe Bradford – England international and, as of 2022[update], the club's all-time top scorer – for the visit of league-leaders Manchester City on 7 December 1929.
"[12][13] He played seven games before Bradford regained fitness and his place,[14] and another five alongside him later in the season, and scored six goals, which included winners against Liverpool and Leeds United.
[12] He was unable to maintain such form,[15] and appeared only rarely before surgery to a knee injured in December was expected to put paid to his season.
[23][24] Haywood played little in 1933–34, but still scored three goals from his six appearances, including a late winner in the FA Cup third round against Sheffield United,[25][26] and he was not retained at the end of that season.
[28] When he returned to the side in December, he scored seven goals from his first five matches, and kept his place for a further month until Harry Clifton was switched to centre forward to accommodate Adam Dawson at inside right.