1911-12 Southern League : First Division

Manager: Syd King

After finishing fifth in the previous campaign the team looked to make a significant challenge for the title. With a good set of players the only signing was that of full-back Vic Glover. It was a poor start with only one victory in the first seven games, this being a good 5-0 home win against Reading. At Exeter in October Danny Shea scored twice in a 3-3 draw and followed this up a week later with a hat-trick against Brentford. There were plenty of goals in the Brentford match as Bill Kennedy also scored a hat-trick in the 7-4 victory. November saw two home wins, the first being against Millwall. The attendance for this match was 23,000 and the majority went home happy after seeing the Hammers win 2-1. The away form was causing concern but this looked to change at Stoke as West Ham raced into a two-goal lead. Unfortunately an injury to Randall saw the Hammers go down to ten men and they finally lost 4-3. After beating Leyton 2-0 at home on Christmas Day there was a shock a few days later when visitors Crystal Palace won 6-1. This was to be West Ham’s biggest home defeat in their Southern League history.

The FA Cup brought the usual excitement and West Ham started well by beating Gainsborough Trinity 2-1 at home. It was a tougher contest in the next round as the Hammers travelled to First Division side Middlesbrough. It was a hard-fought match but West Ham drew 1-1 and won the replay 2-1 with ten men after an injury to Bill Kennedy. The FA Cup run had lifted spirits and there were league wins over New Brompton and Exeter City. Danny Shea was in fine form and scored twice in both games. Swindon Town, the current Southern League champions, were the next opponents in the FA Cup. At the Boleyn Ground the Hammers took the lead but Swindon equalised to force a replay, and it was a disaster at the County Ground as the home side ran out 4-0 winners.

Days later the league leaders Queens Park Rangers came across London and were hit by three goals in 12 minutes, with the Hammers going on to win 3-0. The local derby at Millwall attracted an amazing crowd of 28,500 but the Hammers slumped to a 5-1 defeat. Danny Shea came to the rescue again, scoring twice in a 6-2 victory over Bristol Rovers and grabbing a hat-trick in the 4-0 home win against Norwich City. It was a poor ending to the season, though, with not a single win in the remaining seven games, which gave a final placing of 13th.

CRYSTAL PALACE : Southern League

02-Sep Crystal PalaceA 0-114,000Crystal Palace:GeggusRothwellFairmanWhitemanPiercyRandallAshtonSheaWebbHarrisonCaldwellx

09-Sep SouthamptonH 2-28,000Upton Park:GeggusRothwellFairmanWhitemanPiercyRandallAshtonSheaKennedyHarrisonCaldwellHarrison, Kennedy

16-Sep Plymouth ArgyleA 0-09,000GeggusRothwellFairmanWhitemanPiercyRandallAshtonSheaKennedyHarrisonMorrisonx

JACK MORRISON makes his Hammers debut against PLYMOUTH ARGYLE

18-Sep FulhamLondon Challenge Cup First Round:H 2-2Upton Park:GeggusRothwellFairmanWhitemanPiercyRandallAshtonSheaWebbButcherCaldwellShea, Butcher

23-Sep ReadingH 5-010,000Upton Park:GeggusRothwellGloverWhitemanPiercyRandallAshtonSheaWebbButcherMorrisonPiercy, Rothwell [pen], Shea, Webb, Whiteman

VICTOR GLOVER makes his Hammers debut against READING at Upton Park 5-0

25-Sep FulhamLondon Challenge Cup First Round Replay:A 2-5GeggusRothwellGloverWhitemanPiercyRandallAshtonSheaHarrisonButcherCaldwellHarrison 2

30-Sep WatfordA 0-26,000Cassio Road:GeggusRothwellPiercyWhitemanWoodardsBlackburnAshtonSheaWebbButcherCaldwellx

07-Oct New BromptonH 0-05,000Upton Park:GeggusRedwoodGloverWhitemanPiercyRandallAshtonSheaWebbButcherCaldwellx

14-Oct Exeter CityA 3-38,000St James' Park:GeggusFairmanGloverWhitemanMasseyRandallAshtonSheaWebbHarrisonMorrisonShea 2, Webb

21-Oct BrentfordH 7-410,000Upton Park:GeggusFairmanGloverWhitemanMasseyRandallAshtonSheaKennedyHarrisonMorrisonKennedy 3, Shea 3, Harrison

28-Oct Queens Park RangersA 1-416,000Park Royal Ground:GeggusRothwellFairmanWhitemanMasseyRandallAshtonSheaWebbHarrisonMorrisonWebb

SOUTHAMPTON : Southern League

04-Nov Millwall AthleticH 2-123,000Upton Park:HughesRothwellGloverWhitemanWoodardsRandallAshtonSheaWebbHarrisonMorrisonHarrison 2

JOSEPH HUGHES makes his Hammers debut against MILLWALL at Upton Park

11-Nov Luton TownH 3-09,000Upton Park:HughesRothwellGloverWhitemanWoodardsRandallAshtonSheaWebbHarrisonMorrisonHarrison, Shea, Webb

18-Nov Bristol Rovers A 1-17,000HughesRothwellGloverWhitemanPiercyRandallAshtonSheaKennedyHarrisonMorrisonShea

25-Nov Swindon TownH 0-211,000Upton Park:HughesRothwellGloverWhitemanPiercyRandallAshtonSheaWebbHarrisonMorrisonx

02-Dec Northampton TownA 2-36,000County Ground:HughesRothwellGloverWhitemanPiercyRandallAshtonHarrisonKennedyButcherMorrisonHarrison, Morrison

09-Dec Brighton & Hove AlbionH 1-07,000Upton Park:HughesRothwellGloverWhitemanBlackburnRandallAshtonSheaKennedyHarrisonMorrisonShea

16-Dec Stoke CityA 3-48,000Upton Park:HughesRothwellGloverWhitemanBlackburnRandallAshtonSheaKennedyHarrisonMorrisonKennedy 2, Randall

16 December

CHARLIE TURNER (1937-1939) Born this day Athlone, Co. Westmeath, Republic of Ireland

23-Dec Coventry CityH 0-17,000Upton Park:HughesRothwellGloverWhitemanWoodardsBlackburnAshtonSheaWebbHarrisonMorrisonx

25-Dec LeytonH 2-017,000Upton Park:HughesRothwellGloverWhitemanWoodardsBlackburnAshtonSheaWebbButcherCaldwellAshton, Butcher

26-Dec LeytonAbandoned 55 mins: Ground unfitA 1-2Hare & Hounds:HughesRothwellGloverWhitemanWoodardsBlackburnAshtonSheaKennedyHarrisonCaldwellShea

30-Dec Crystal PalaceH 1-68,000Upton Park:HughesRothwellGloverWhitemanRedwardBlackburnAshtonSheaKennedyHarrisonCaldwellShea

PLYMOUTH ARGYLE : Southern League

READING : Southern League

WATFORD : Southern League

NEW BROMPTON : Southern League

EXETER CITY : Southern League

BRENTFORD : Southern League

QUEENS PARK RANGERS : Southern League

MILLWALL : Southern League

LUTON TOWN : Southern League

Image courtesy of Tim Parish

BRISTOL ROVERS : Southern League

SWINDON TOWN : Southern League

NORTHAMPTON TOWN : Southern League

BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION : Southern League

STOKE CITY : Southern League

COVENTRY CITY : Southern League

LEYTON : Southern League

CRYSTAL PALACE : Southern League

SECOND-HALF