60 Fun Facts About West Ham United

West Ham United began life in 1895 as the works team of which company?

Owner Arnold Hills and foreman Dave Taylor announced the club in the Thames Ironworks Gazette; the yard's most famous ship was HMS Warrior.

Which warship, the Royal Navy's first ironclad built by Thames Ironworks, gives its hull shape to the 2016 club crest?

The last ship built at the yard was the dreadnought HMS Thunderer in 1912.

Thames Ironworks folded in June 1900 and relaunched as West Ham United under whom?

King served 32 years before being sacked in 1932; Paynter, his assistant, then managed the club until 1950.

According to one story, how did Thames Ironworks come by a claret and blue kit belonging to Aston Villa?

William Belton reportedly won the race at a fair near Villa Park; the Villa player who lost reported the kit 'missing'.

West Ham's first match at the Boleyn Ground in September 1904 was a 3-0 win over which fierce rivals?

Millwall were also an ironworks team, for a rival company; the Hammers-Lions rivalry is the club's oldest.

Upton Park's ground was named for Green Street House, a Tudor house tied to which queen?

Henry VIII supposedly courted her there; the tower on the old badge represented the house, demolished in 1955.

West Ham's first Football League match, in 1919, was a 1-1 draw with which club?

Promotion to the First Division followed in 1923, the year of the White Horse final.

Which club won the 1923 'White Horse final' at Wembley 2-0?

Police estimated nearly 300,000 people came; Billie was actually grey and ridden by PC George Scorey.

West Ham's first major trophy, won at Wembley in June 1940, was the first edition of what?

They beat First Division Blackburn Rovers 1-0 at Wembley in the inaugural wartime tournament.

Malcolm Allison's 1950s meetings that grew into the 'Academy of Football' were held at which venue?

Players used pepper pots and other café items to illustrate tactics; Ted Fenton was the manager.

Which manager, appointed in 1961, led West Ham to the 1964 FA Cup and the 1965 Cup Winners' Cup?

He later moved 'upstairs' and appointed John Lyall without telling the board, then left to manage England in 1977.

Which three West Ham players were in England's 1966 World Cup-winning team?

All three came through the youth team; the 'Champions' statue on Barking Road also includes Everton's Ray Wilson.

West Ham's 1975 FA Cup final win over Fulham was the last by a team of what kind?

Fulham's line-up included two former England captains, Alan Mullery and West Ham legend Bobby Moore.

West Ham lost a European final in 1976, 4-2, to which Belgian club?

They had beaten Eintracht Frankfurt in the semi-final; the same club knocked them out of the Europa League in 2022.

West Ham's 1980 FA Cup win remains the last time a club from where lifted the trophy?

John Lyall's Second Division side beat Everton in the semi-final and won promotion the following year.

West Ham's highest ever league finish, third in 1985-86, produced a side known as what?

Relegation followed in 1989 and Lyall was sacked after 34 years at the club, with a 73-word programme note.

How many words did the club programme give John Lyall's 34 years when he was sacked in 1989?

He received an ex gratia £100,000 but called the circumstances 'upsetting'.

Which manager resigned in 1990 after less than a season to clear his name over Swindon betting allegations?

Billy Bonds replaced him and won promotion in 1990-91.

Which signing from Oxford United in 1994 became homesick and was sold to Swindon after just 58 days?

His attitude baffled Billy Bonds, who soon walked away from the club when the board manoeuvred to make Redknapp manager.

Roughly how many players passed through West Ham during Harry Redknapp's seven years as manager?

The net transfer deficit was £16 million despite selling Rio Ferdinand to Leeds for £18 million.

Which Redknapp signing earned as much as an entire stand's revenue yet made only eight appearances?

Christian Bassila cost £720,000 and played 86 minutes; Gary Charles earned £4.4 million for three starts.

West Ham's fifth place in 1999 was followed by winning which European trophy against Metz?

It earned a place in the 1999-2000 UEFA Cup.

West Ham were relegated in 2003 with what then record points total for a relegated club in a 38-game season?

Trevor Brooking, 'the best manager West Ham never had', went unbeaten as caretaker after Glenn Roeder fell ill.

Alan Pardew's West Ham won the 2005 play-off final 1-0 against Preston with a goal from whom?

A year earlier they had lost the final to Crystal Palace; West Ham paid Reading £380,000 to release Pardew.

West Ham lost the 2006 FA Cup final on penalties to Liverpool after what scoreline?

They still reached the UEFA Cup because Liverpool had qualified for the Champions League.

West Ham were fined £5.5 million in 2007 over signing Carlos Tevez and which other Argentine?

Avoiding a points deduction proved decisive; Tevez's winner at Manchester United on the last day kept them up at Sheffield United's expense.

Which Icelandic businessman led the consortium that bought West Ham in November 2006?

By 2009 the Icelandic banking collapse left the owners unable to fund the club, and shirt sponsor SBOBET helped buy Alessandro Diamanti.

Who became West Ham's first non-British manager in September 2008?

He finished ninth, then survived a relegation scrap before being sacked in May 2010.

West Ham's 2011 relegation was sealed when they blew a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 at which club?

Charles N'Zogbia scored the added-time winner; Avram Grant was sacked immediately.

Who scored the 87th-minute winner in the 2012 play-off final against Blackpool under Sam Allardyce?

Carlton Cole had opened the scoring at Wembley.

How did West Ham qualify for the 2015-16 Europa League?

They entered at the first qualifying round; Slaven Bilić then won at Anfield for the first time in 52 years.

West Ham's final season at the Boleyn Ground, 2015-16, ended a stay of how many years?

Bilić's side set Premier League-era club records for points (62) and goals (65) that season.

The Boleyn Ground's record attendance of 42,322 was set in October 1970 against which club?

After it went all-seater the record was 35,550 against Manchester City in 2002; capacity at closure was 35,016.

Which two clubs mounted the legal challenge that collapsed West Ham's first Olympic Stadium deal in 2011?

A 99-year lease was finally signed in March 2013 after a fresh tenancy process.

How long is West Ham's lease on the London Stadium, signed in March 2013?

The government put in an extra £1 million towards conversion costs.

West Ham's 2022 Europa League semi-final loss to Eintracht Frankfurt echoed which earlier European semi-final?

It was the club's first European semi-final since that year; Sevilla and Lyon had been beaten on the way.

West Ham's 2023 Conference League win, their first major trophy since 1980, came against which club?

They reached the final unbeaten with 13 wins and one draw; David Moyes was still not offered a new deal a year later.

Mark Noble retired in 2022 after how many first-team appearances, later returning as sporting director?

He scored 62 goals over 18 years and had publicly criticised the sale of Grady Diangana in 2020.

West Ham's record fee received, £100 million in July 2023, came from which club for Declan Rice?

Rice had captained the side to the Conference League a month earlier.

The London Stadium's record West Ham attendance of 62,478 came in May 2023 against which club?

The lowest league crowd in club history was 4,373 against Doncaster in 1955.

Which manager, Lopetegui's January replacement, was sacked in September 2025 with West Ham 19th?

Nuno Espírito Santo took over but the club were relegated on the final day of 2025-26 despite beating Leeds 3-0.

West Ham's 2026 relegation was confirmed on the final day when which rivals beat Everton?

It ended a run of 68 top-flight seasons out of 100; the club had never previously dropped below the second tier.

The crossed tools on West Ham's badge are what?

Riveting gangs of five, including a 'catch-boy' and a 'holder-on', joined the iron plates of ships at the yard.

What was added below the crest in 2016 to 'establish the club firmly on the international stage'?

The castle was dropped because the club had left the Boleyn Ground.

Thames Ironworks originally wore navy blue because chairman Arnold Hills had attended which two institutions?

Claret and blue, the house colours of the Ironworks, became permanent home colours in 1903.

The club anthem is linked to a Pears soap advert featuring a Millais painting, because the child resembled which local schoolboy footballer?

Headmaster Cornelius Beal wrote words to the tune, and his friend, manager Charlie Paynter, brought it to Upton Park in the late 1920s.

Which recording of 'I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles' is always played before home games?

The crowd carries on singing after the music stops at 'Fortune's always hiding', while about 60 bubble machines fill the air.

West Ham fans chant Paolo Di Canio's name to which Verdi aria?

They also sang 'D.I. Canio' to Ottawan's 'D.I.S.C.O.' and 'That's Zamora' to 'That's Amore'.

West Ham's Inter City Firm was among the first hooligan groups known as 'casuals' because they did what?

The films The Firm (1989) and Green Street (2005) were based on West Ham firms.

Which Czech billionaire bought 27% of West Ham in November 2021?

David Gold died in January 2023 and David Sullivan stood down as chairman in June 2026.

West Ham led the 2007-08 Premier League in English players per starting line-up, averaging how many?

Youth coach Tony Carr, at the club from 1973 to 2014, is credited with much of the Academy's success.

West Ham retired the number 38 shirt as a posthumous honour for which young striker?

The Australian forward played for the club from 2010 to 2014; the only other retired number is Bobby Moore's.

Which shirt number did West Ham retire in honour of Bobby Moore?

Moore was a West Ham defender from 1958 to 1974 and captained England to the 1966 World Cup.

In 2015, Slaven Bilic's fourth game brought a first West Ham win in 52 years at which ground?

Manuel Lanzini, Mark Noble and Diafra Sakho scored in a season that ended with a seventh-place finish.

Much of the West Ham academy's success is credited to which youth coach, in post from 1973 to 2014?

Between 2000 and 2011 the academy produced eight England players, as many as Manchester United.

Who holds the record of five Hammer of the Year awards?

He was also the first to win it three years running, in 1976, 1977 and 1978, and had a stand named after him in 2009.

Which Everton player joins West Ham's three 1966 heroes on the Champions statue in Barking Road?

The statue stands opposite The Boleyn Tavern and recreates the famous image of Moore held aloft with the trophy.

What did the Thames Ironworks team of 1895-1900 use as its badge?

The crossed rivet hammers came later, and the tower only began appearing intermittently from the 1950s.

Which 2005 film starring Elijah Wood and Charlie Hunnam is based on West Ham hooligan firms?

The 1989 film The Firm, starring Gary Oldman, drew on the same notorious subculture.

The first Hammer of the Year, Andy Malcolm in 1957-58, was nominated by a journalist at which paper?

Every subsequent winner has been chosen by a vote of the supporters instead.