A couple of years ago a bit of a controversy blow up about an an assertion (in Karren Brady’s newspaper column if I recall correctly) that Clyde Best suffered serious racial abuse at Upton Park in the 1970s, with amongst other things bananas being thrown on the pitch. That was undoubtedly mistaken, I remember such incidents happening (much to our shame), but it was much later, in the 1980s and was aimed at the black stars of the WBA side of that era. Clyde Best corrected the mistake at the time and reaffirms in his autobiography that he never received any noticeable abuse at Upton Park, from the main body of supporters (outside perhaps of a small NF fringe that attached itself to the club at that time). In fact, best is fulsome in his praise for Hammers fans, who he states are the finest body of fans in the land. No, the truth is that the real racial abuse suffered by Best was at away grounds and particularly northern away fixtures at the likes of Everton and Man City. Indeed, the only time Best felt threatened at Upton Park was an occasion when he received an anonymous written threat that he would be attacked with acid if he appeared at the next scheduled game at Upton Park. Hence the title of the autobiography, Precautions were taken, Best appeared in the match and the threat proved empty, but nevertheless, it was understandably a very frightening episode.
The book provides some interesting detail about the formative influences on Best, including his family, his cricket loving father, local sports clubs in his native Bermuda and, indeed, the beautiful Atlantic Island itself and its close knit local community. If things had been different, he might have become a cricketer, but the truth is football was always his first love. And it was his impressive local performances that resulted in influential national coach, Graham Adams (a friend of Ron Greenwood), to recommend him to the club for a trial. His background in Bermuda is very important to understanding both the personality of the man and his sporting development. It was there that he acquired his characteristic respect and quiet dignity, which equipped him so well to deal with the racist abuse. That, plus the support and advise of his mentor, Ron Greenwood, who told him the best way to shut up the bigots was to put the ball in the back of the net. Good advice, Best notes how often he silenced racist barracking at away grounds by doing his job and converting chances. He gives one particularly memorable example, where he was receiving constant racist barracking from the crowd at Goodison, and he silenced them by scoring with an exquisite chip over the keeper. A goal that Joe Royle afterwards graciously told him was one of the best ever scored at Goodison.
Clyde Best’s initial affiliation with West Ham United began in 1964, when he watched the Cup Final on TV in Bermuda with his older brother. He claims that after watching that match he identified with the Hammers and predicted that one day he would play for the club! This affiliation was further consolidated when he also watched on TV the Hammers triumvirate star in England’s 1966 World Cup victory at Wembley. On arriving in England, on a Sunday afternoon in August 1968, club representatives were not present at the airport to meet him (there was a mix up and they were expecting him to arrive on the Monday, rather then the Sunday). So, he made his own way to East London on the District Line and made the very logical mistake of getting off at West Ham Station, rather than Upton Park. The 17 year old Best, awed by the size and complexity of London, felt lost, dis-orientated and unsure what to do next. It was then that he had an extraordinary stroke of good fortune, a friendly West Hammer took pity on the lost looking youth and, on hearing his story, was able to take him to the home of the Charles family in nearby Ronald Avenue. There he was taken in for the night and contact was made with the club, with whom he went on to complete a successful trial. He also establish a long-standing, warm relationship with the Charles family, with whom he lodged until his marriage a few years later, particularly West Ham full-back, Clive Charles, who become a life long friend.
The books is particularly interesting in terms of the observations of an outsider on the East London of the 1960s, in juxtaposition to the small, pretty communities of his native Bermuda. It also charts his successful trial, apprenticeship in the combination league and rise to first team status. It includes many interesting references to such Hammers legends as Greenwood, Moore, Hurst, Peters, Bonds, Brooking and Pop Robson. It is clear that he has a particular admiration for Greenwood and Moore; and fully recognises the debt that he owes Hurst for his success at the club. He is fulsome in his praise of Moore the footballer, the captain and the man and acknowledges the key, formative influence that Ron Greenwood had upon him. Greenwood was a football innovator and Best rightly praises his often forgotten role in promoting the introduction of black players in to the modern English game. The fact being that it was Greenwood who played three black players in an English game for the first time in the early 1970s, not Ron Atkinson at WBA in the 1980s. Arguably, Best enjoyed his most successful period at the club playing alongside Hurst and Redknapp in the strike force. He played off Hurst, who took the target man role, and he thrived on Redknapp’s wing play. Indeed, he laments the (in his view) pre-mature departure of Hurst and Redknapp (to Stoke City and Bournemouth respectively) and the detrimental impact that it had on his game. In Hurst’s absence Best took at the task of leading the line and it was not a role to which he was best suited. This was perhaps the very start of the gradual decline of his West Ham career (accelerated by Greenwood’s move upstairs to become General Manager) that ultimately accumulated in his exit from the club, after eight seasons, at the surprisingly young age of 24. Best questions whether his English football career peaked too early and this resulted in its pre-mature decline? The question is left open for the reader to reach their own conclusion.
There are vivid descriptions of matches against the best sides of the era, including the bruising Leeds Utd of Hunter and Bremner and the glamorous Manchester United of Charlton, Best and Law; as well as accounts of famous episodes such as the Blackpool night club incident and the marathon League Cup semi-final against Stoke City. He reminds us of an era in English football before the rise of the wealth and power Premier League. The world of the 1960s and 1970s, when each club had their star players and there was such a strength in-depth of English talent that players of the quality of Bryan Pop Robson and Jimmy Greenhoff (of Stoke City) were never capped at full England level. It was also a world in which the players were (socially and economically) more in touch with the fans and the game was more about them than Billionaire owners, large corporate interests and Sky Sports! He wonders how ordinary fans can afford to attend games these days and clearly laments the direction in which the modern game has gone in this and some other respects. Indeed, for me, one of the best features of this book is the way in which he relates his experiences to modern developments. Hence, amongst others, there is commentary concerning race in the contemporary game (particularly the remaining bastion of the lack of black top class managers), refereeing and the introduction of new technology, corruption in football/FIFA; and West Ham’s 2016/17 move to the London Stadium.
Best’s greatest sadness in his time at West Ham was that he did not figure in the 1975 FA Cup Final. However, by that time he was largely a squad player. He was a spectator at Wembley and it was that point at which Best decided that his future now lay elsewhere. He could have stayed in the First Division, a bid from Wolverhampton Wanderers was accepted, but Best admits he did not want to play for another English club. After an initial loan period, Best made a move in to the very different world of the North American Soccer League (NASL). There he recounts his experiences in American ‘soccer,’ playing for teams such as Tampa Bay Rowdies and Portland Timbers (where he played against such legends as Cryuff and Pele) and his eventual move in to the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL); as well the details of his brief and ultimately unsuccessful loan period with Feyenoord in the 1977/78 season. The book concludes with his activities after retirement as a player, including returning to Bermuda to take on the role of National Coach/Technical Director.
Clyde Best’s love for West Ham United is very obvious in the book. And he is a very important figure in the development of black professional footballers in England. He was not the first black player in English football, nor (as he freely admits) was he even the first Bermudan. However, there is a unique significance to Best’s career with West Ham in that he made a breakthrough and popular impact that others did not. From a West Ham perspective, Best was originally an exotic outsider at a club that was famous for producing its own local talent. Yet, he proved himself and become regarded with genuine respect and affection as ‘one of our own.’ And more than that, he played and earnt the respect of probably the greatest players in the club’s history. That is quite an achievement.
In conclusion, I found this book to be one of the most interesting of player autobiographies. It is filled with gems of recollections and observations that bring to life the Hammers in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Moreover, it gives us an insight in to the man himself, his formative influences and the challenges he faced and overcome. I would recommend it to WHTID readers. It is a book to saviour for all socially conscious Hammers fans.
’The Acid Test – The Autobiography of Clyde Best is published by deCoubertin Books (2016) and retails for £20.00.
SJ. Chandos.