Although the alphabet runs from A to Z, it is rare to have names which start with X or Z. Hayes, for example, has had none. So, today we have reached the last letter, Y, for which we have eight entries, making this the 20th letter by size.

The first was a player by the name of Young (we don’t know his first name) who may have played in the 7-1 win against RAF Uxbridge in February 1929. There were several changes in the team, but no report of the match, so we cannot be certain of the exact line-up.

Next comes James Frederick Lees Young, known as ‘Jim’, a goalkeeper, who made one appearance in 1938-9 and another during the 1939-40 season. He made his debut as stand-in for regular goalkeeper Bill Greygoose against Southwick in the ill-fated Amateur Cup tie at Southwick, which Hayes lost 3-1 – on the following day club president John Brown died. His second game was the opening fixture in the Great Western Combination against Redford Sports in October 1939. He also played against Hayes for Yiewsley in the Middlesex Red Cross Competition later in the in 1939-40 season and is believed to have had a trail with Arsenal. Born at Sunderland in March 1918, the second of five children and the only boy, he moved south with the family during the depression. Living at Bishops Road in Hayes, he worked at the Gramophone Company. He joined the Royal Navy in the early days of World War II, and served as a petty officer in HMS Subtle submarine in the Far East. He was mentioned in despatches with the citation "For gallantry, skill and outstanding devotion to duty whilst serving in HM Subtle in numerous successful patrols in trying conditions in the Pacific, frequently carried out in shallow and difficult waters and in the presence of strong opposition". We know so much about Jim Young because his daughter learned of the A to Z feature in the Hayes programme and contacted us with the details. Sadly Jim passed away in October 2005.

The next entry is another goalkeeper with the same surname – Gerry Young. Gerry stood over 6ft tall and was a policeman. He joined Hayes from Metropolitan Police, where he had been selected for the Spartan League, and made 22 appearances during the 1951-2 season. He started as first-choice, but eventually lost it to Ted Culver, and moved to Walton & Hersham, for whom he played for a couple of seasons, including in the Amateur Cup tie against Crook Town in March 1954.

Two players whose name started with ‘Y’ played for Hayes during the 1972-3 season. Graham Yates was another goalkeeper, who made just one appearance in the Premier Midweek Floodlight League against Wembley in October 1972. He later played for Staines Town and Walton & Hersham, and joined Kingstonian in 1979, for whom he played against Hayes as late as 1985.

Dave Yerby arrived at Hayes in September 1972 from Slough Town. He had previously played for Hendon and Wealdstone. He was a flame-haired, fast-raiding defender, who could also play as a conventional winger. He was quite small, but had an ability to jump high for headers. He scored on his début against Hoddesdon Town, at the beginning of Hayes’ FA Cup run, which saw the club eliminate Football League opponents for the first time. Good enough to be selected for Middlesex, he left for Enfield at the end of the season, but returned in April 1974. He left again at the start of the 1974-5 season and went to Molesey, Hendon and Tooting & Mitcham, before returning from Sunday football for a third spell at Church Road in January 1977, under Bobby Ross. In January 1979 he was suspended for a month by manager Martin Hackett for a breach of club discipline and placed on the transfer list. A month later he left Hayes for the final time and joined Woking, for whom he played against Hayes in March 1979. He later played against Hayes for Slough Town in 1979-80, and for Carshalton Athletic in November 1983. At Hayes he made 98+9 appearances and scored eight goals.

During his last spell at Hayes, Dave was joined briefly by his younger brother Steve Yerby. Steve, who joined in September 1978, was an outside-left. When he left only two months later he had made two appearances, but, when they played together against Tilbury, Steve and Dave became the first brothers to play together for Hayes since Bob and Dick Marjoram in May 1950.

We have to advance over 20 years for the next entry in the letter Y.  Centre-back Yiadom Yeboah signed for Hayes from Wealdstone in the summer after relegation from the Conference in 2002. He had previously played for Hillingdon Borough in the Spartan South Midlands League. He was a reliable defender, who marked his opponents closely but fairly, and was gifted with the ability to send the ball long distances from a throw-in. In his second season he was deservedly voted Player of the Year and was always popular with the fans for his whole-hearted approach. He missed the second half of the 2002-3 season with a niggling groin injury and his absence was apparent. He made 125+1 appearances and scored two goals before being released to join Yeading in May 2005, when there were suspicions that his knees would not stand up to another season of Conference South football.

The last two members of this letter, who played for Hayes early in the new century, hardly merit more than the briefest of mentions – but, as we have space, we shall honour them.

Abdulai Yoki joined from Harrow Borough in 2004 with a reputation for scoring goals. He did quite well in the pre-season fixtures, scoring twice, but failed to find the net in six appearances as a substitute, and returned to Harrow.

The final entry is Keisuke Yamada, Hayes’ first Japanese player. A lively midfielder with a powerful shot, he made just three appearances as substitute at the start of the 2005-06 season, before joining the former Hayes contingent at Windsor & Eton, where he made just one start.

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