Football hooligan turned activist One Eyed Baz dies after 'massive' heart attack
Football hooligan turned charity worker Barrington Patterson has died after suffering a heart attack, his wife has announced.
Mr Patterson, known as One Eyed Baz, was well known across Birmingham and the wider region for his work to combat homelessness.
His wife announced on Twitter on Tuesday: "At 6am this morning my beloved husband had a massive heart attack @OFFICIALWMAS worked for over an hour to save him unfortunately it wasn't meant to be our hearts are broken".
Mr Patterson was a Birmingham City fan and former member of the infamous Blues’ Zulu hooligan firm but turned his back on violence years ago and campaigned on community issues.
The 56-year-old, who lost an eye as a child, featured in Danny Dyer's Real Football Factories documentary in 2006.
Blues supporters and the wider community have been sending messages of respect to the martial arts fighter on social media.
Blues wrote on Twitter: "The Club are saddened to learn of the passing of lifelong Bluenose, Barrington Patterson.
"All of our thoughts are with his family and friends at this difficult time. May you rest in peace, Baz."
Once a feared ex-football hooligan and member of the notorious Zulu gang, Baz turned his life around to become a film star, mentor and dedicated charity worker – actively leading work across the Midlands to combat homelessness and knife crime.
After living a criminal lifestyle in his earlier days, Baz spent time visiting schools to warn children of the dangers that come with carrying knives.
He would share his successes on his Twitter account, writing recently: "Nice to get back out into schools to talk to the youngsters about gangs knife crime and staying on the right path."
In is his last ever tweet on March 19, he spoke about how the children are open to learning about gang violence, behaviour in school, and knife crime – he said 'they're good kids' and that he 'got through to one or two of them'.
His wife's tweet was met with a flood of tributes from friends, family, and fans of Baz.
Former heavyweight champ, Frank Bruno MBE, said Mr Patterson was his 'long-standing friend' and that his thoughts are with his family.
