Sometimes confused with the more famous Fitzroy player of the same name, who was born in 1939, John R. Hayes had a brief career playing Australian rules football in the Victorian Football League. It was as an amateur that he was selected to represent a combined VFL/Victoria Football Association team in the demonstration event at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. There, this squad was defeated by the Victorian Amateur Football Association team 81-55. Originally a member of the University Blues, Hayes went on to represent the St Kilda Football Club for seven matches in 1958, which marked the end of his professional career.
Australia