Former Hammer Graham Paddon has died at the age of just 57.
Manchester-born Paddon died suddenly at his home earlier today. He spent three years at West Ham under both Ron Greenwood and John Lyall during the 1970s and went on to make 151 appearances in claret and blue.Greenwood signed the midfielder from Norwich City in 1973 for £170,000. He went on to play in West Ham's most important games of that period including the 1975 FA Cup Final and the 1976 Cup Winners Cup Final before rejoining Norwich following West Ham's 1-0 defeat at Carrow Road in November of that year.
Paddon will probably be best remembered by Hammers fans for the 30-yard screamer he scored against Eintract Frankfurt in the away leg of the Cup Winners Cup semi-final which proved vital to United's progression to the final.
Born in 1950, Paddon began his professional career with Coventry City. After making just five appearances for the Sky Blues, Ron Saunders paid £25,000 to take him to Norwich in 1969.
Paddon was part of the City side that won promotion to the (old) First Division for the first time in their history in the 1971/72 season. He joined the Hammers a year later in a cash plus player deal that saw Ted MacDougall sign for City.
After returning to Norwich in 1976, Paddon went on to make a total of 350 appearances for the club before departing for Millwall in 1981, having also spent some time in the US playing in the now defunct NASL with Tampa Bay Rowdies alongside other aging English pros such as Rodney Marsh.
After only five games for Millwall, Paddon went to Hong Kong where he ended his playing days with Eastern AA. Brief spells in coaching with Portsmouth, Stoke and Derby were to follow.
KUMB's condolences go to Graham's partner and three children.
* You can see highlights from the 1976 Cup Winners Cup semi-final first leg here. You can read a 2002 interview with Paddon - where he talks about his three years with the Hammers - here.
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