Albert Hillman Paddington (30 June 1881 – 3 April 1932) was an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a half-back for

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

and

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

in the 1900s. During his career he was always known as "Paddy".

Football career

Paddington was born at

Bishopstoke Bishopstoke is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Eastleigh, Eastleigh district of Hampshire, England. It is recorded as "Stoke" as early as 948AD when King Eadred granted land there to a thegn called Aelfric. Stoke later came into th ...

, Hampshire and played for various local clubs, while working as a painter for

London and South Western Railway The London and South Western Railway (LSWR, sometimes written L&SWR) was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth, to Salisbury, Exete ...

at the

Eastleigh Railway Works Eastleigh Works is a locomotive, carriage and wagon building and repair facility in the town of Eastleigh, in the county of Hampshire in England. History LSWR The London and South Western Railway (LSWR) opened a carriage and wagon works at E ...

. He joined

of the Southern League as an amateur in September 1900, aged 19, before turning professional the following May. He was one of the few local players who made the grade at this time in a side containing several

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

internationals and Scottish imports. At the "Saints", Paddington spent most of his career in the reserves, where he was appointed captain soon after joining the club. He made his first-team debut when he took the place of

Bertram Sharp Bertram Sharp (8 January 1876 – 2 November 1949) was an English footballer who played as a full-back with Aston Villa, Everton and Southampton around the turn of the 20th century. He was the elder brother of England international footballer ...

left-half In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for the game against

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

on 13 October 1900. He retained his place for the next match and made one further appearance in February, as Southampton went on to claim the Southern League title for the fourth time in five years. In the following season, Paddington made his first League appearance for nearly a year when, on Saturday 1 February, he replaced

Bert Lee William Herbert Lee (11 June 1880 – 23 January 1946) was an English songwriter. He wrote for music hall and the musical stage, often in partnership with R. P. Weston. Life and career Lee was born in Ravensthorpe, Yorkshire, England.Richard ...

, who had been injured three days earlier with a "''nasty kick to the head''" in the replay of the First Round FA Cup match against the cup holders,

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

. Paddington retained his place for the second replay at

Elm Park Elm Park is a suburban planned community in East London and part of the London Borough of Havering. Located east-northeast of Charing Cross, it is identified as a district centre in the London Plan with several streets of shops and a priority f ...

ground on Monday 3 February. In the first half, Paddington struggled against the pace of the Spurs' forwards, including John Cameron and Sandy Brown but, with the assistance of

George Molyneux George Molyneux (31 July 1875 – 14 April 1942) was a professional footballer who played for Everton, Southampton and Southend United, and later became Southend's manager. He played in the 1902 FA Cup Final for Southampton, and won four En ...

, survived a goalless first-half. In an impressive second-half, Paddington completely "''shackled''" Cameron and Brown and although Spurs scored first through

Jack Kirwan John Henry Kirwan (December 2 1872 – 7 January 1959) was an Irish football player and coach. As a player, he was described as an out and out winger with good pace and skills, playing as an outside-left for, among others, Everton, Tottenham ...

, following a slip by C. B. Fry, the Saints ran out as victors with goals from

Archie Turner Arthur "Archie" Turner (June 1877 – 4 April 1925) was a professional footballer who played at outside-right in the 1900 and 1902 FA Cup Finals for Southampton, and made two appearances for England. Playing career Archie Turner was born in H ...

and Albert Brown. Paddington was in and out of the first-team for the rest of the season, making a further six league appearances as cover for Lee or

Samuel Meston Samuel Meston (16 January 1872 – 14 August 1948) was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a half-back for Stoke and Southampton. Whilst with Southampton, he appeared in two FA Cup Finals and won six Southern League championship m ...

(at

right-half In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

), but was not selected again in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

as the Saints reached the cup final for the second time in three seasons. After making only three appearances in 1902–03, Paddington left the club in the 1903

close-season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of S ...

, and moved along the south coast to join

. After one season in the Southern League with Brighton in which he made regular appearances in a season when Brighton struggled to avoid finishing at the bottom of the table, Paddington returned to Hampshire to re-join Eastleigh Athletic in September 1904.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paddington, Bert 1881 births People from Bishopstoke 1932 deaths English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Southampton F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Southern Football League players Eastleigh Athletic F.C. players Footballers from Hampshire