EXTRA TIME

West Ham’s greatest games

June 28, 2020 at 10:22 pm Leave a comment

West Ham United celebrates its 125th anniversary on 29 June 2020 – and as part of these celebrations the Club’s 50 greatest matches are shown on West Ham‘s website. All of them, of course, were played in front of supporters, and they have sung the club anthem “Bubbles” since the 1920’s. Oh, how I miss these big crowds, since the coronavirus has stopped football and now condemned us to watch games on TV only, played behind closed doors since the restart! Scroll down to watch highlights and the full games of West Ham’s unforgettable Boleyn Ground finale in 2016 and of West Ham’s play-off win against Blackpool in 2012.

On 29th June, 1895, Arnold Hills, the managing director of the Thames Ironworks & Shipbuilding Company in east London, announced in his newspaper, the Thames Ironworks Gazette, that he intended to establish a football club. From 1904 to 2016 the Club, that was renamed “West Ham United” in 1900, played at their Upton Park Stadium also known as Boleyn Ground.

One of the #50GreatestMatches was of course the unforgettable Boleyn Ground finale in 2016. The last game at Upton Park was played on 10 May 2016.

Thames Iron Works’ first match was a friendly against Royal Ordinance on 7th September, 1895. The result was a 1-1 draw. This was followed by victories against Dartford, Manor Park, Streatham and Old St Stephens. Since 1895, when the Hammers were formed as Thames Ironworks FC, they have played in excess of 5,500 matches – reaching five FA Cup finals – and one women’s FA Cup final, lifting European silverware in 1966 and competing across the globe and enjoying thousands of memorable moments.

Thames Ironworks started to play in Oxford Blue (dark blue) shirts. Beginning from the 1897-98 season they began to use Cambridge Blue (light blue). The photographs of the Thames Iron Works taken in 1897 and 1899, although in black and white, show that the team continued to play in light blue shirts, combined with white shorts and scarlet socks.

Thames Iron Works was renamed West Ham United in September 1900. A team photograph taken that year suggested that the club had retained the light blue colours. According to club historian, John Helliar, on 14th September, 1901, West Ham “took to the field wearing their new colours of light blue jerseys, with a claret band, and white knickers with a red stripe.”

By the end of the 19th century or maybe as late as the 1903-04 season West Ham began to wear claret and blue shirts. In a very well known, but maybe not true story it is recounted that “in the summer of 1899 Bill Dove, a sprinter of national repute who was involved in coaching the Ironworks team, was challenged to a race with four Aston Villa players at a fair in Birmingham. Dove won but the Villa men could not pay the wager so one of them pinched a set of claret and blue shirts from his club (he was responsible for doing the laundry) to settle the bet.” is there any primary evidence of the club wearing these colours until the 1903-04 season. In 1904 West Ham moved to the Boleyn Ground.

From the 5,500 matches of which the Club has played the vast majority in claret & blue, the top 50 were chosen with the help of its supporters, the top 50 games, featuring landmark goals, trophies held aloft, heroic individual performances and remarkable collective efforts, and showed these highlights on the homepage.

One of the #50GreatestMatches was of course the unforgettable Boleyn Ground finale in 2016. Another one is West Ham’s win at Wembley in 2012 when the Club beat Blackburn to be promoted to the Premier League. The game was shown with Carlton Cole commentary by WHU TV during the lockdown.

Come on You Irons!

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