1900–01 West Ham United F.C. season

English football team season February 2019 February 2019 West Ham United 1900–01 Club secretary Lew Bowen Cornelius OsbornLazzeluer JohnsonKorr 2005 243 Memorial Grounds Southern League First Division 6th FA Cup Intermediate round(eliminated by Liverpool) Billy Grassam (12 goals) Billy Grassam (15 goals) 10,000(vs. Clapton, 8 December 1900 1,000(vs. Luton Town, 9 February 1901, and Kettering Town, 5 April 1901) 3,800 1899–1900 1901–02 _collar_buttons_2 _sides_on_white 87CEFA 87CEFA 87CEFA 800000 000000 The 1900–01 season was English football club West Ham United’s inaugural season. The club had been founded in 1895 under the name of Thames Ironworks, before being wound up in June 1900 and resigning from the Southern League. On 5 July, West Ham United Football Club Company Limited was registered and the club took the Southern League place vacated by Thames Ironworks.Powles 2005 86–87 They finished the season sixth in the Southern League Division One. The club also entered the FA Cup, reaching the intermediate round.Powles 2008 14 Overview The prospectus of the new limited liability company, to be known under the title of The West Ham United Football Club Company Limited is at hand. The primary object will be to encourage and promote the game of football in West Ham and district, and powers have also been taken by the company authorising them at any time to acquire land and other property. The company has been constituted on the ordinary lines, except that by the rules of the English Football Association no dividend beyond 5 per cent per annum can be paid. The affairs will be managed by a board of directors. Morning Leader. 28 April 1900.Powles 2005 86–87 Shares in the club were sold to the public at 10 shillings each, with Arnold Hills promising to purchase one share for each one sold to the public. These could be purchased in four instalments of 2/6 d. Of the 4,000 shares available, 260 remained unsold in March 1901.Powles 2005 87Powles 2005 96 At the first meeting of directors on 10 July 1900, Cornelius Osborn was appointed as chairman, with Lew Bowen as club secretary.1900-01 Southern League: First Division Steve Marsh Stuart Allen whu-programmes.co.uk 6 November 2018 http://whu-programmes.co.uk/1900-01-first-xi/4550895312 Bowen was a clerk at the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company and had reported on the previous club for the Thames Ironworks Gazette.Blows Hogg 2000 28 Of the ten directors, half were appointed by Hills and half by the shareholders,Powles 2008 4–5 including Aitken Brown, a local councillor. Also amongst the directors was former Old St Luke's player and local businessman George Fundell.Powles 2005 51 All of the directors lived in Essex, most in the Canning Town and West Ham areas, and several had connections to the Ironworks or had business relationships with Hills.West Ham United Football Club and the Beginnings of Professional Football in East London, 1895-1914 Journal of Contemporary History Sage Publications Korr Charles P. April 1978 13 2 222 10.1177/002200947801300203 260114 161552810 In spite of Hills' assistance the club struggled financially and were forced to secure a loan of £400 later in the season.Powles 2008 10 Today the West Ham United F.C. is in the hands of you locals. It is your club, and you, who are shareholders, have a voice in its management. Those who are not, I make a strenuous appeal for your support. It would be a standing disgrace to a district like West Ham, which is considered a hot-bed of football, if the club were allowed to go unsupported. I have the names of the players before me, and I see no reason why we should not figure highly up in the Southern League table. In closing, I would say, let there be unity of action. Let each supporter strive for the good of his club both on and off the field. Let each work for one end – that of making the club the best in England. Much depends on a good rousing cheer when things are going against your side. Be liberal with your praise and sparing with your criticism. Above all, be sportsmen and gentlemen. Success and failure hang in the balance. Everything depends upon you. Will you make the club a success? And as a sportsman I think – dropping the third person for a moment – the answer is 'We will'. West Ham Guardian. Prior to the start of the 1900–01 season.Powles 2005 96 The club continued to play at the Memorial Grounds, with hopes that the new train station at West Ham would enable greater access to the stadium. Ultimately, the station would not be opened until February 1901.Powles 2008 11 Hills’ promise to match the public shareholding, and his offer of free use of the Memorial Grounds, came with the proviso that the players would refrain from drinking alcohol.Powles 2008 4 As such, the club continued to be known as the Teetotallers, in addition to the Irons and the Hammers, references to the club's shipbuilding heritage.Powles 2005 96Haunting Hammers faces from a long-gone era Mike Rowbottom The Independent 29 December 2001 4 November 2018 https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/mike-rowbottom-haunting-hammers-faces-from-a-long-gone-era-9247540.html https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/mike-rowbottom-haunting-hammers-faces-from-a-long-gone-era-9247540.html 1 May 2022 subscription live Fines were imposed on players that did not adhere to the principle of abstinence.Powles 2008 7 They would play in the Southern League First Division for the second season, after being promoted as Thames Ironworks prior to 1899–1900.Northcutt Marsh 2015 15 A preview of the season in the Daily News described the league as "now, without a doubt, second only in importance and the strength of its clubs to the Football League itself. With the exception of Woolwich Arsenal, who prefer to remain members of the Second Division of the Football League, all the best professional teams in the South are now enrolled in the ranks of the Southern League".Prospects of the Southern League Teams https://www.newspapers.com/clip/25179509/190001_southern_league_preview/ The Daily News 8 September 1900 7 Newspapers.com 7 November 2018 Many of the playing staff continued with the new club. The likes of Bill Joyce, Kenny McKay and Albert Carnelly had departed,Powles 2005 86 but Tommy Moore, Syd King, Charlie Craig, Charlie Dove, George Neil, Bob Allan, Roddy McEachrane, Fred Corbett, Frankie Taylor and Len Walker all played a part in the season. Players signed from other clubs before the start of the season included Hugh Monteith from Bristol City, Billy Grassam and Jimmy Reid from Burslem Port Vale, Luke Raisbeck from Middlesbrough, Fergus Hunt from Woolwich Arsenal, Fred Fenton from Gainsborough Trinity, and Albert Kaye from Chatham. Walter Tranter, who had played for the Ironworks before spending the previous season at Chatham, was also signed. Tom Robinson, the previous trainer, also remained, and Abe Norris was appointed.Blows Hogg 2000 27 Of the former Ironworks players, only Tranter, Craig, Dove, and captain McEachrane, featured in the opening fixture against Gravesend United.Powles 2008 5 West Ham's first match, on 1 September 1900, saw the club run out 7–0 winners against the Kent club, although the attendance was unexpectedly low at 2,000. Billy Grassam scored four of the goals, the first within five minutes, with Reid scoring a brace and Hunt the other.Belton 2006 38 The match saw the introduction of new team colours, with a claret stripe running down the white shorts and black socks replacing the previous claret ones, although light blue shirts were still worn.Playing Kit: 1900 - 1999 Steve Marsh theyflysohigh.co.uk 4 November 2018 http://theyflysohigh.co.uk/playing-kit-1900-1999/4547927422 The kit would be commemorated 117 years later as the basis for the club's third kit for the 2017–18 season.A throwback to our origins: Explaining the detail on West Ham United's third kit West Ham United F.C. 1 September 2017 4 November 2018 https://www.whufc.com/news/articles/2017/september/01-september/throwback-our-origins-explaining-detail-west-ham-uniteds After a 3–1 away defeat to rival club Millwall Athletic, the club hosted Southampton, who had won the Southern League title in three of the previous four seasons and had reached the FA Cup Final in 1899–1900. 7,500 attended the match and witnessed the Irons win 2–0.Powles 2008 6 There was some controversy, however, as the match had to be stopped for around 20 minutes after a pitch invasion and the club directorate came in for criticism due to the presence of only two police constables.Powles 2008 7 Former Thames Ironworks club secretary George Neil would play his only game for the new club on 13 October, replacing the injured Bob Allan against Watford. West Ham won 2–0, with goals from Corbett and Fenton, which saw the club placed third in the table after six games.Powles 2008 7 On 3 November, West Ham played their first FA Cup game, a third qualifying round fixture against local amateur club Olympic at the Memorial Grounds. The match was a one-sided affair, with the away team goalkeeper Meates performing well to keep the scoreline at 1–0, after Fenton had scored 10 minutes in with a ball that had appeared to be meant as a cross.Powles 2008 9 After an injury to Charlie Dove, the club signed Willie Kelly from Hamilton Academical. His debut came against Bristol Rovers on 24 November. The Hammers also signed George Ratcliffe from Grimsby Town, then of the Football League Second Division. He scored on his debut against Reading on 1 December.Powles 2008 7Northcutt Marsh 2015 24–27 The largest home attendance came in an FA Cup fifth qualifying round fixture against local side Clapton on 8 December. A crowd of 10,000 attended the match, which ended 1–1. The Hammers went on to win the replay at the Old Spotted Dog Ground 3–2 after Billy Grassam scored a hat-trick. The Clapton ‘keeper Harry Earle (whose son later played for West Ham) had been at fault for the second after running out and leaving his goal unguarded.Powles 2008 9–10Hogg 2005 73 West Ham progressed to the intermediate round of the competition, featuring teams that had overcome the qualifying rounds and those that had been given byes.The Ultimate F.A. Cup Statistics Book Tony Brown Association of Football Statisticians 1994 6 November 2018 http://www.soccer.mistral.co.uk/facup/cupintro.htm soccer.mistral.co.uk 17 April 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210417053429/http://www.soccer.mistral.co.uk/facup/cupintro.htm dead On 5 January 1901, 6,000 attended the match at home to Liverpool – the first League opposition to play at the Memorial Grounds – which saw Sam Raybould’s goal, contested as offside by the home team, give the visitors a 1–0 victory and progression in the competition.Powles 2008 11West Ham United v. Liverpool Daily News January 1901 6 November 2018 http://whu-programmes.co.uk/1900-01-first-xi-2/4576341976 whu-programmes.co.uk 12 February 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190212132231/http://whu-programmes.co.uk/1900-01-first-xi-2/4576341976 dead Then followed a loss to Bristol City and three victories, over Swindon Town, Watford and Luton Town, before the club’s worst defeat of the season on 16 February. This came at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur, a 4–1 loss in which Tommy Moore, deputising in goal for Hugh Monteith who had lumbago, was at fault for three of the goals. This would prove to be his final appearance for the club and he left at the end of the season after three years of service.Powles 2008 11Hogg 2005 147 The club then embarked on an eight-match unbeaten run, which included victory over Millwall, and would take them through to the season’s penultimate fixture, away to Reading.Northcutt Marsh 2015 25 Grassam scored the last of his 12 league goals in the match, but three goals from the Royals in the second half ended the run. On 28 April, West Ham finished their first season with a 2–0 win over New Brompton. The match marked the final appearance of Charlie Dove – the only player to have remained at the club since its inception as Thames Ironworks six years previously – who left for Millwall.Blows Hogg 2000 27 With that win, the Hammers ensured a sixth-place finish.Powles 2008 13 Personnel Directors Sources:Club History: 1900 West Ham United F.C. 7 November 2018 https://www.whufc.com/club/history/club-history/1900/1900 A.F. Hills (president) L. Johnson (chairman) A.C. Davis G.C. Fundell G.C. Handley C.E. Osborn G.J. Hone J. Grisdale E. Smith J.W.Y. Cearns A. Brown Squad Source:Powles 2008 14 Position[a] Player SL apps SL goals Cup apps Cup goals Total apps Total goalsRHBob Allan 24 0 3 0 27 0CFFred Corbett 21 7 2 2 23 9LBCharlie Craig 25 0 6 0 31 0CHCharlie Dove 13 0 3 0 16 0OLFred Fenton 14 2 5 1 19 3IRBilly Grassam 20 12 3 3 23 15ORFergus Hunt 27 3 6 1 33 4ILAlbert Kaye 14 2 6 3 20 5CHWillie Kelly 19 0 3 0 22 0RBSyd King 22 0 6 0 28 0LHRoddy McEachrane 28 1 6 0 34 1GKHugh Monteith 24 0 6 0 30 0GKTommy Moore 4 0 0 0 4 0RHGeorge Neil 1 0 0 0 1 0LBA. Pinder 1 0 0 0 1 0LBDick Pudan 2 0 0 0 2 0CHLuke Raisbeck 2 0 2 0 4 0ILGeorge Ratcliffe 17 4 1 0 18 4CFJimmy Reid 13 5 6 0 19 5OLFrankie Taylor 12 4 0 0 12 4RBWalter Tranter 4 0 2 0 6 0ILLen Walker 1 0 0 0 1 0 a. Indicates the most common position played during this season Friendlies West Ham played a number of friendlies over the course of the season, including a Christmas Day fixture against Woolwich Arsenal, local derbies against Millwall Athletic and Leytonstone, and a benefit match for Portsmouth goalkeeper Matt Reilly.1900-01 Friendlies Steve Marsh Stuart Allen whu-programmes.co.uk 8 November 2018 http://whu-programmes.co.uk/1900-01-friendlies/4571416611 15 December 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20181215224128/http://whu-programmes.co.uk/1900-01-friendlies/4571416611 dead 30 August 1900 Friendly West Ham United 3–0 West Norwood Memorial Grounds Canning Town, London W 10 November 1900 Friendly Millwall Athletic 0–0 West Ham United The Athletic Grounds Isle of Dogs, London D 25 December 1900 Friendly Woolwich Arsenal 1–0 West Ham United Manor Ground Plumstead, London L 26 December 1900 Friendly Millwall Athletic 1–0 West Ham United The Athletic Grounds Isle of Dogs, London L 3 April 1901 Friendly West Norwood 0–3 West Ham United Ratcliffe (2) Corbett West Norwood, London W 8 April 1901 Friendly West Ham United 3–0 Burslem Port Vale RatcliffeUnknown Memorial Grounds Canning Town, London W 9 April 1901 Friendly Leytonstone 1–6 West Ham United Reid (3), Grassam (2, both pens)Ratcliffe Leytonstone, London W 17 April 1901 Friendly Millwall Athletic 0–0 West Ham United The Athletic Grounds Isle of Dogs, London D 24 April 1901 Friendly Watford 0–1 West Ham United Hunt Cassio Road Watford W 25 April 1901 Friendly West Ham United 0–0 Woolwich Arsenal Memorial Grounds Canning Town, London D 24 April 1901 Friendly Brighton & Hove Rangers 1–1 West Ham United Corbett Brighton and Hove D 29 April 1901 Friendly Portsmouth 2–1 http://whu-programmes.co.uk/communities/8/004/008/644/968//images/4627463809_306x772.jpg West Ham United JoyceLewis Reid Fratton Park Portsmouth 2,000 Bob Blyth L Competitions Overview main WDL Competition n wperc y y SLF Southern League First Division FAC FA Cup 14 5 9 40 28 3 2 1 10 6 complete Southern League League table Division One WHU Matches 1 September 1900 1 West Ham United 7–0 http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=5&ham=68&united=01_Sep_1900 Gravesend United Grassam (4) Reid (2) Hunt Memorial Grounds Canning Town, London 2,000 W 8 September 1900 2 Millwall Athletic 3–1 http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=5&ham=69&united=08_Sep_1900 West Ham United Reid The Athletic Grounds Isle of Dogs, London 10,000 L 15 September 1900 3 West Ham United 2–0 http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=5&ham=70&united=15_Sep_1900 Southampton ReidGrassam Memorial Grounds Canning Town, London 7,500 W 29 September 1900 4 West Ham United 1–2 http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=5&ham=71&united=29_Sep_1900 Bristol City Kaye Memorial Grounds Canning Town, London 5,000 L 6 October 1900 5 Swindon Town 0–1 http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=5&ham=72&united=06_Oct_1900 West Ham United Corbett County Ground Swindon 2,000 W 13 October 1900 6 West Ham United 2–0 http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=5&ham=73&united=13_Oct_1900 Watford CorbettFenton Memorial Grounds Canning Town, London 4,000 W 20 October 1900 7 Luton Town 2–0 http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=5&ham=74&united=20_Oct_1900 West Ham United Dunstable Road Luton 4,000 L 27 October 1900 8 Tottenham Hotspur 0–0 http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=5&ham=75&united=27_Oct_1900 West Ham United White Hart Lane Tottenham, London 6,000 D 10 November 1900 9 Portsmouth 3–2 http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=5&ham=77&united=10_Nov_1900 West Ham United ReidKaye Fratton Park Portsmouth 5,000 L 24 November 1900 10 Bristol Rovers 2–0 http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=5&ham=80&united=24_Nov_1900 West Ham United Eastville Stadium Bristol 3,000 L 1 December 1900 11 West Ham United 1–0 http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=5&ham=81&united=01_Dec_1900 Reading Ratcliffe Memorial Grounds Canning Town, London 4,000 W 15 December 1900 12 Gravesend United 0–0 https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-dec-22-1900-895066/ West Ham United Overcliffe Ground Gravesend 1,000 D 29 December 1900 13 Southampton 3–2 http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=5&ham=85&united=29_Dec_1900 West Ham United HuntFenton The Dell Southampton 4,000 L 12 January 1901 14 Bristol City 1–0 http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=5&ham=87&united=12_Jan_1901 West Ham United St John's Lane Bristol 2,500 L 19 January 1901 15 West Ham United 3–1 http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=5&ham=88&united=19_Jan_1901 Swindon Town Corbett (2)Grassam Memorial Grounds Canning Town, London 4,000 W 26 January 1901 16 Watford 0–1 http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=5&ham=89&united=26_Jan_1901 West Ham United Grassam Cassio Road Watford 2,000 W 9 February 1901 17 West Ham United 2–0 http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=5&ham=90&united=09_Feb_1901 Luton Town CorbettTaylor Memorial Grounds Canning Town, London 1,000 W 16 February 1901 18 West Ham United 1–4 http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=5&ham=91&united=16_Feb_1901 Tottenham Hotspur Grassam Memorial Grounds Canning Town, London 5,500 L 23 February 1901 19 Queens Park Rangers 0–2 http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=5&ham=92&united=23_Feb_1901 West Ham United GrassamTaylor Kensal Rise Athletic Ground Kensal Rise, London 6,000 W 2 March 1901 20 West Ham United 1–1 http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=5&ham=93&united=02_Mar_1901 Portsmouth McEachrane Memorial Grounds Canning Town, London 3,000 D 9 March 1901 21 New Brompton 1–1 http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=5&ham=94&united=09_Mar_1901 West Ham United Hunt Priestfield Stadium Gillingham 2,000 D 16 March 1901 22 West Ham United 2–0 http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=5&ham=95&united=16_Mar_1901 Bristol Rovers GrassamCorbett Memorial Grounds Canning Town, London 4,000 W 21 March 1901 23 West Ham United 1–0 http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=5&ham=96&united=21_Mar_1901 Millwall Athletic Corbett Memorial Grounds Canning Town, London 2,500 W 23 March 1901 24 Kettering Town 0–1 http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=5&ham=97&united=23_Mar_1901 West Ham United Grassam Kettering 1,000 W 30 March 1901 25 West Ham United 1–1 https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-nov-11-1899-895130/ Kettering Town Taylor Memorial Grounds Canning Town, London 2,000 D 5 April 1901 26 West Ham United 2–1 http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=5&ham=99&united=05_Apr_1901 Queens Park Rangers George Ratcliffe (2) Memorial Grounds Canning Town, London 4,000 W 10 April 1901 27 Reading 3–1 http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=5&ham=100&united=10_Apr_1901 West Ham United Grassam Elm Park Reading 1,000 L 20 April 1901 28 West Ham United 2–0 http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=5&ham=101&united=20_Apr_1901 New Brompton George RatcliffeTaylor Memorial Grounds Canning Town, London 2,000 W FA Cup Matches 3 November 1900 3rd Qualifying West Ham United 1–0 http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=5&ham=99&united=05_Apr_1901 Olympic Fenton Memorial Grounds Canning Town, London 3,000 W 17 November 1900 4th Qualifying New Brompton 1–1 http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=5&ham=78&united=17_Nov_1900 West Ham United Corbett Priestfield Gillingham 1,200 D 21 November 1900 4th Qualifying (replay) West Ham United 4–1 http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=5&ham=79&united=21_Nov_1900 New Brompton Kaye (2)CorbettHunt Memorial Grounds Canning Town, London 1,200 W 8 December 1900 5th Qualifying West Ham United 1–1 http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=5&ham=82&united=08_Dec_1900 Clapton Orient Kaye Memorial Grounds Canning Town, London 10,000 D 12 December 1900 5th Qualifying (replay) Clapton Orient 2–3 http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=5&ham=83&united=12_Dec_1900 West Ham United Grassam (3) Millfields Road Lower Clapton, London 5,000 W 5 January 1901 Intermediate West Ham United 0–1 http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=5&ham=86&united=05_Jan_1901 Liverpool Memorial Grounds Canning Town, London 6,000 L References Bibliography Belton Brian 2006 West Ham United Miscellany Pennant Books 978-0-9550394-4-7 Blows Kirk Hogg Tony 2000 The Essential History of West Ham United Headline 978-0-7472-7036-2 Hogg Tony 2005 Who's Who of West Ham United Profile Sports Media 978-1-903135-50-1 Korr Charles 2005 1986 West Ham United: The Making of a Football Club Gerald Duckworth & Co. 978-0-7156-2143-1 Northcutt John Marsh Steve West Ham United: The Complete Record 2015 deCoubertin Books 978-1-909245-27-3 Iron in the Blood SoccerData Powles John 2005 Nottingham 1-899468-22-6 http://www.soccer.mistral.co.uk/books/iron.htm 12 January 2018 11 February 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20180112100922/http://www.soccer.mistral.co.uk/books/iron.htm dead Irons of the South SoccerData Powles John 2008 Nottingham 978-1-905891-08-5 External links Southern League 1st Division 1900-01 at westhamstats.info The History of West Ham United: 1900-1901 at Spartacus Educational West Ham United Category:West Ham United F.C. seasons West Ham United West Ham United