West Ham Till I Die
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Nostalgia

Remembering Andy Malcolm (RIP); 1933-2013

Sadly, news has come through that former Hammer, Andy Malcolm, passed away on Boxing Day at the age of 80.

Andy made his debut for the club, aged 20, in a home loss to Notts County in December 1953. He went on to play over 300 times for the Hammers with his last game in October 1961 against Sheffield Wednesday. Andy Malcolm was typical of so many players of that generation, in that he was born a stones throw from the Boleyn ground. He was a tough tackling wing half, no nonsense, and tough as teak himself – only missing a handful of games in his career. He was ever present in the promotion winning side of the 1957/58 season, winning a Division Two champions medal along with being named Hammer of the Year for his contribution to the side. Andy Malcolm was the very first recipient of the award. This was no mean feat and highlights the importance of the man in a team that included Gregory, Bond, Brown, Allison, Cantwell, Musgrove and prolific goal scorers Vic Keeble and John Dick. Andy was not renown for his goal scoring, but he scored three of his four goals for the club in that one season.

The job Andy was good at was man marking. Many claim that he has been the best that West Ham have ever had in this role. In the 1958/59 season back in the top flight, he played players like Jimmy Greaves, Denis Law and Johnny Haynes out of the game. These were three of the giants of the game at the time. About ten years ago Andy bumped into Johnny Haynes at an airport, to which Johnny remarked – “you are still following me around after all these years”. Some players nicknamed him “Shadow”, as they were more likely to get a kick from Andy than a kick of the ball.

Andy also had the honour of being West Ham’s first England youth international, although he did not go on to win a full England cap. He did represent the Football League in a fixture against the Scottish League in 1958. When Ron Greenwood took over from Ted Fenton as club manager in 1961, Andy lost his place in the team. Perhaps his style was not suited to Ron’s philosophy? So he was transferred to Chelsea in 1962 before later joining QPR. He was to have a brief spell in South Africa before returning to England. Like many retired professional footballers of the time he went on to become landlord at Essex pubs, The Ship and Anchor in Malden and The Lion in Latchingdon. In 1986 Andy Malcolm returned to South Africa where he would spend the rest of his life.

Everyone at WHTID would like to pass on their sincere condolences to Andy Malcolm’s family and friends at this sad time.

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