West Ham United F.C are a professional English football club based in East London. They play at the Boleyn Ground, which is known more commonly as Upton Park due to its location in the London district of the same name and the London Underground tube station used to travel to the football ground. They are nicknamed "The Hammers" by the media, but are better known as "The Irons" by their own fans. The club has a training facility at Chadwell Heath, adjacent to the railway line from which the team may occasionally be viewed at practice during the week. The club currently plays in the Football League Championship.

History

The club was founded in 1895 as the works side of the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Co. Ltd by the company chairman Arnold Hills , playing in the London League. They joined the Southern League Second Division in 1899. When the club became a limited company in 1900 the club name was changed to West Ham United. West Ham's club colours are claret and blue.

The club moved to the Memorial Ground in Plaistow in 1900 and then to a pitch in the Upton Park area, originally named The Castle for the 1905-06 season. They joined the Football League in 1919 and were first promoted to the top division in 1923. They have won the F.A. Cup three times in 1963-64, 1974-75 and 1979-80. They also won the (now defunct) European Cup Winners' Cup in 1964-65, beating 1860 Munich 2-0 in the final at Wembley Stadium, London. They also appeared in the final of the same competition in 1975-76, losing 4-2 to Anderlecht of Belgium.

West Ham have never been hugely successful in the League, their highest ever position being a third-place finish in the old First Division in 1985-86. They have been in the Premiership for most of the seasons since its inception in 1992-93; however, in 2002-2003, after a poor campaign in which it took them nearly six months to win their first home match, they were relegated from the Premiership. The following season they reached the playoff final but were defeated by Crystal Palace. They are the only club in the United Kingdom still owned and run by the families that founded it.

Honours

FA Cup Winners: 1964, 1975, 1980

European Cup Winners' Cup Winners: 1965, Runner's up 1976

UEFA Intertoto Cup Winners: 1999

Second Division Champions 1958, 1981

Famous players

Famous players, past and present, include;

• Clyde Best
• John Bond
• Billy Bonds
• Ronnie Boyce
• Sir Trevor Brooking
• Paolo di Canio
• Joe Cole
• Alan Devonshire
• Rio Ferdinand
• Craig Forrest
• Sir Geoff Hurst
• Paul Ince
• Frank Lampard Jr.
• Frank Lampard Sr.
• Alvin Martin
• Bobby Moore
• Phil Parkes
• Martin Peters
• Harry Redknapp
• Brian 'Pop' Robson
• Ray Stewart

Managers

West Ham have only had ten managers in their history, fewer than the majority of large English clubs have had. Indeed, up until 1989 the club had only had five different managers.

• 2004-present - Alan Pardew
• 2001-2004 - Glenn Roeder
• 1994-2001 - Harry Redknapp
• 1990-1994 - Billy Bonds
• 1989-1990 - Lou Macari
• 1974-1989 - John Lyall
• 1961-1974 - Ron Greenwood
• 1950-1961 - Ted Fenton
• 1932-1950 - Charlie Paynter
• 1902-1932 - Syd King

Trivia

The team's supporters are famed for their passionate rendition of their team's anthem, "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles", the lyrics of which are as follows:

External links

• Official Website
• Knees Up Mother Brown (fansite)
• West Ham Online (fansite)