Syd Puddefoot

Syd Puddefoot

Puddefoot as a West Ham United player
Personal information
Date of birth	(1894-10-17)17 October 1894
Place of birth	East London, England
Date of death	2 October 1972(1972-10-02) (aged 77)
Place of death	Rochford, Essex, England
Playing position	Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
–1912	Limehouse Town
1912–1922	West Ham United	158	(102)
1922–1925	Falkirk
1925–1932	Blackburn Rovers
1932–1933	West Ham United	22	(3)
National team
1925–1926	England	2	(0)
Teams managed
1931–1933	Fenerbahçe
1933–1936	Galatasaray
1937–1939	Northampton Town
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Sydney Charles Puddefoot (17 October 1894 in Bow, London – 2 October 1972 in Rochford, Essex) was a footballer who played as a forward for West Ham United. He was also a cricketer for Essex and later went into football management.

Puddefoot was a pupil at Park School in West Ham and played with Condor Athletic and Limehouse Town before being spotted by West Ham trainer Charlie Paynter in a London Juniors match against Surrey Juniors. He quickly developed into a formidable force and scored 28 goals in 55 Southern League appearances for the club.

Puddefoot made 126 appearances in the wartime London Combination and scored nearly 100 goals, including seven against Crystal Palace in November 1918 (a record for the competition).

After the end of World War I, Puddefoot played in the newly enlarged Football League Division Two for the 1919-20 season. He scored 21 goals, and was selected to play in England's Victory International games against Scotland and Wales. He then scored 29 in the 1920-21 season and 19 in 1921-22 before transferring to Falkirk for £5,000 in February 1922, a world transfer fee record, with an agreement to transfer younger brother Len as part of the deal.