West Ham 3-0 Stoke, 3rd September 1921
3rd September 1921, 99 years ago today – east London was very much in the news as the Poplar Rates Revolt caught the public’s imagination. Faced with a massive increase in the rate and with 86,500 unemployed, Poplar Council refused to cut the level of relief to the poor and withheld £270,000 in contributions required by the London County Council (LCC) until the wealthy West End boroughs (who themselves, by comparison, had only 4,500 unemployed) took a fairer share. The council ignored a court order to pay and the majority, led by the Mayor of Poplar and future Labour leader George Lansbury, marched to court backed by thousands of supporters. The councillors, including Nellie Cressall who was six months pregnant, were duly sent to prison.
Two days after this, West Ham United triumphed 3-0 over Stoke City, in front of 20,000 spectators at Upton Park. Faced with a threatened rent strike and enormous popular support for the councillors, the LCC and the Government eventually succumbed and the High Court released them the following month. A mural to the councillors involved in the strike has been in place on the wall of the depot of Tower Hamlets Parks Department on Hale Street, E14, since 1990. Lansbury’s nephew’s grandson is Malcolm Turnbull, the former Prime Minister of Australia.
The Hammers’ goals in that match against the Potters came courtesy of right-half Percy Allen and legendary inside-right Syd Puddefoot, while inside-forward Thomas Jackson made a goalscoring debut for the club. Sunderland-born Jackson (pictured) was to only make two more appearances in claret and blue, in a defeat at Bradford Park Avenue two days later and in a home draw with Leeds in January 1922, without finding the net again.
West Ham would finish the 1921/22 Division Two season in 4th place, while Stoke would end the campaign promoted in second position. Liverpool won the First Division title and Huddersfield won the FA Cup.
West Ham United: Ted Hufton, Jack Hebden, William Cope, Percy Allen, George Kay, Syd Bishop, William Thirlaway, Thomas Jackson, Syd Puddefoot, Stephen Smith, William James.
West Ham 1-0 Liverpool, 3rd September 1962
Our next blast from the past features a 1-0 victory 58 years ago, on the 3rd of September 1962, with West Ham United welcoming the previous campaign’s Second Division title-winners, Liverpool. American poet E. E. Cummings died on this day at the age of 67, Frank Ifield was number one with ‘I Remember You’ and William Holden and Trevor Howard were starring in The Lion in UK cinemas.
The Irons went into the game third bottom of the table after five games – a 3-1 defeat at Aston Villa had been followed by successive heavy home defeats to Wolves (4-1) and Tottenham (6-1) before a 0-0 draw at Wolves in the reverse fixture arrested the slump. A 2-0 defeat at Leyton Orient immediately prior to the visit of Liverpool piled the pressure back on though.
The Hammers scored the only goal of this Monday evening encounter courtesy of 21-year-old Tony Scott. This was the Huntingdon-born right winger’s seventh goal of 19 in his West Ham career, which spanned from 1960 to 1965. The 1962/63 season turned out to be Scott’s best for West Ham as he went on to score ten goals in 34 appearances, this strike against the Reds being the first of them. Scott made 97 appearances in claret and blue before departing for Aston Villa. He went on to play for Torquay, where he played under former Hammer Frank O’Farrell and was reunited with former team-mate John Bond. He followed Bond to Bournemouth, where he also teamed up with another former team-mate in Ken Brown, before finishing his playing days at Exeter. Now 79, Scott lives in Perth, Australia. He is pictured below, on the right, alongside defender Eddie Presland and fellow winger Harry Redknapp.
Ron Greenwood’s West Ham would end the season in 12th place while Bill Shankly’s Liverpool finished in 8th. Bobby Moore won the second of his four Hammer of the Year titles, with Jim Standen voted runner-up. Geoff Hurst was the Irons’ top goalscorer in 1962/63 with 15 goals from 29 appearances. Everton won the First Division title and Manchester United won the FA Cup.
West Ham United: Lawrie Leslie, John Bond, Bobby Moore, Ken Brown, Jack Burkett, Martin Peters, Tony Scott, Phil Woosnam, Johnny Byrne, Geoff Hurst, Malcolm Musgrove.
Liverpool: Jim Furnell, Gerry Byrne, Ron Yeats, Phil Ferns, Ronnie Moran, Gordon Milne, Jimmy Melia, Ian Callaghan, Roger Hunt, Ian St John, Alan A’Court.
Newcastle 2-3 West Ham, 3rd September 1977
West Ham United had opened the 1977/78 campaign with three defeats from their first three games and been knocked out of the League Cup by Nottingham Forest in a 5-0 defeat when they travelled to Newcastle United 43 years ago today, on 3rd September 1977 – Elvis Presley had died just over two weeks previously but was number one with ‘Way Down’, Roger Moore’s James Bond was in UK cinemas in The Spy Who Loved Me and the Hammers bagged maximum points with a 3-2 First Division victory over the Magpies in front of 26,983 at St James’ Park.
The Irons went into the fixture 41 years ago with a major injury crisis (what’s new?!) and were without both Billy Bonds and Trevor Brooking. The visitors found themselves 2-0 down as Newcastle took control through goals from striker Micky Burns and a long-range stunner by Northern Ireland international midfielder Tommy Cassidy. The Hammers pulled one back before half-time, Billy Jennings rifling home a ‘Pop’ Robson cross after expertly controlling on his chest.
West Ham were level within four minutes of the restart when Pat Holland’s low cross was turned in by Alan Taylor. The comeback was complete when Frank Lampard’s free-kick was headed home by Robson (pictured above), returning to his former club. All the goals from this match, plus an interview with John Lyall, can be seen in my video below.
Lyall’s Hammers would end the 1977/78 Division One season in 20th position and were relegated after finishing a solitary point behind QPR, while Newcastle would also suffer the drop as they finished one place and ten points behind the Irons. Robson would be the Hammers’ top scorer with 11 goals from 41 appearances, while Brooking would be voted Hammer of the Year for the fourth time. Nottingham Forest won the league title and Ipswich won the FA Cup.
Newcastle United: Mick Mahoney, Ray Blackhall, John Bird, Kenny Mitchell (Irving Nattrass), Aiden McCaffrey, Alan Kennedy, Graham Oates, Tommy Cassidy, David McLean, Tommy Craig, Micky Burns.
West Ham United: Mervyn Day, Frank Lampard, Kevin Lock, Tommy Taylor, Paul Brush, Alan Curbishley, Pat Holland, Alan Devonshire, Billy Jennings, Alan Taylor, Bryan ‘Pop’ Robson.
Tottenham 0-2 West Ham, 3rd September 1983
Our final match today sees us travel back exactly 37 years, to the 3rd September 1983 – UB40 were number one with ‘Red Red Wine’, Blue Thunder topped the UK box office and, two days later, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe made its debut on British television. Meanwhile, West Ham United secured a 2-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in front of 38,042 at White Hart Lane.
The Hammers went into this match with a 100% record from their opening two matches of 1983/84 having beaten Birmingham 4-0 on the opening day at the Boleyn Ground before winning 1-0 at Everton. Top of the fledgling First Division table, the Irons made it three wins from three games with Steve Whitton opening the scoring, flashing in a shot on the turn after Alvin Martin had nodded down an Alan Devonshire corner from the left. It was Whitton’s first goal for the club after joining from Coventry – he would score eight goals in 46 appearances for the club before moving to Birmingham in 1986.
27-year-old centre-forward Dave Swindlehurst (pictured above) bagged the second after a flowing move involving Geoff Pike and Ray Stewart ended in Tony Cottee holding off Gary Stevens before digging out a cross which Swindlehurst fired home low beyond Ray Clemence. Both left-backs on display in this game represented both clubs in their careers – 24-year-old Chris Hughton went on to play for West Ham, while 25-year-old Steve Walford had started his career at Tottenham. The goals from this game can be viewed in my video below.
The Hammers remained top of the league until mid-October, winning six of their opening eight matches. The Irons held a top four place until the end of March 1984 but only one win from the final 12 games resulted in a ninth-placed finish. Tottenham finished one place and one point above the Hammers in eighth position and also won the UEFA Cup. Cottee would end the season as the club’s top scorer with 19 goals from 47 appearances and was voted runner-up to Trevor Brooking as Hammer of the Year. Liverpool won the league and Everton won the FA Cup.
Tottenham Hotspur: Ray Clemence, Danny Thomas, Graham Roberts, Gary Stevens, Chris Hughton, Glenn Hoddle (Paul Miller), Gary Mabbutt, Steve Perryman, Tony Galvin, Garth Crooks, Mark Falco.
West Ham United: Phil Parkes, Ray Stewart, Alvin Martin, Billy Bonds, Steve Walford, Steve Whitton, Geoff Pike, Trevor Brooking, Alan Devonshire, Tony Cottee, Dave Swindlehurst.
Happy 56th Birthday Alan Dickens
Alan Dickens was born in Plaistow on 3rd September 1964 and was a member of West Ham United’s FA Youth Cup-winning side in 1981. He gained four England caps at youth level and played for the Under-21s. Dickens became a West Ham apprentice on the 14th July 1981 and signed pro forms on 2nd August 1982. He made his first competitive appearance under John Lyall on 18th December 1982 at the age of 18, scoring on his debut in a 2-1 win at Notts County. The central midfielder scored five more goals before the end of 1982/83 – in a 2-1 home win over Brighton on 5th March 1983, a 1-1 draw at Norwich on 26th March, a double in a 5-1 win at Swansea on 5th April and in a 2-1 home win over Sunderland four days later.
Goals and, indeed, appearances were harder to come by in 1983/84 but Dickens became more of a feature the following campaign, scoring four goals – two in the league, in a 3-2 win at Southampton in September 1984 and a 1-1 home draw with Tottenham in April 1985, and his first two goals in the FA Cup, in a 4-1 third round home win over Port Vale and a 5-1 fifth round replay home win over Wimbledon.
Dickens made 51 appearances in the glorious season of 1985/86, scoring in a 3-1 home win over QPR, a 4-2 win over Nottingham Forest, a 3-1 defeat at Liverpool and a 2-1 home win over Ipswich as the Hammers finished third in the First Division, their highest ever league placing. The following season brought five goals, including strikes in successive games in a 2-2 draw at Watford and a 4-1 home League Cup second round second leg win over Preston. ‘Dicko’ also scored in the next round in a 3-2 win at Watford and followed that with the winner in a 1-0 victory over Everton at Upton Park. He also scored in a 4-1 win over Leicester on New Year’s Day 1987.
1986/87 saw four goals from the Hammers’ midfield maestro – he scored again at Vicarage Road as the Hammers won 2-1 at Watford before notching in a 2-1 home defeat to Millwall in the first round of the Full Members’ Cup. Further strikes followed in a 2-1 home win over Southampton in December 1987 and a 1-0 win at QPR in January 1988.
Dickens hit his highest goals total in 1988/89 but it was to be a nightmare season for the Irons as they were relegated in a season which culminated in the sacking of John Lyall. Dickens scored in a 4-1 home defeat to Arsenal in October 1988, a 2-1 League Cup second round second leg win over Sunderland, a 2-0 home win over Newcastle, a 2-2 home draw with Arsenal in the FA Cup third round, a 3-0 home win over Millwall in April 1989 and two strikes in May 1989, in a 1-0 home win over Luton and 2-0 win at Sheffield Wednesday as the Hammers tried desperately to save themselves from the dreaded drop.
Relegation saw Dickens leave the club – he signed for Chelsea for £600,000 in June 1989. He had scored 30 goals in 234 appearances for his local club. 18 of those 30 goals can be viewed in my video below.
He had a three-match loan spell at West Brom in the 1992/93 season before another loan spell with Brentford. He went on to play for Colchester but his senior playing career was over at the age of 30. He went on to appear for Chesham, Hayes, Collier Row, Billericay and Purfleet before retiring in 1998. 56 today, Dickens worked as a black cab driver and was assistant manager at Barking from November 2008 until April 2012, when he was appointed manager before leaving the job in November that year.