Sydney Charles Puddefoot, ‘Puddy’ to his admiring fans, was a household name amongst football supporters between the two world wars, a time generally regarded as the golden age of British football. In this first-ever full-length biography, Peter Morris charts Puddefoot’s rise to stardom: from his East London upbringing to hero status at his beloved West Ham United whilst still a teenager; his sensational world-record transfer to Falkirk; his return to England with Blackburn Rovers, where he won an FA Cup winners’ medal; his brief and unsuccessful return to Upton Park; his venture into football management, firstly with Galatasaray of Istanbul and then Northampton Town; and his five England caps and brief second career as a first-class cricketer with Essex are all comprehensively covered in these pages. Largely forgotten by all but a few football aficionados, ‘Puddy’ brings back to life the man as well as the tumultuous times that he lived through.
