1961-62 Football League : First Division

PLYMOUTH ARGYLE : FA Cup (Third Round)

Home Park

0 - 3

6 January 1962

Att: 26,915

Leslie

Kirkup

Bond

Hurst

Brown

Moore

Crawford

Woosnam

Tindall

Dick

Musgrove

Image courtesy of Richard Miller

Our F.A. Cup Third Round tie at Home Park was a fiasco for the Hammers. Plymouth Argyle won 3-0, and qualified to meet Spurs in the next Round (Tottenham beat them 5-1 away, and went on to win the trophy). We had earlier beaten Argyle in the League Cup at Upton Park, but on this occasion they dictated play from shortly after the start. Their goals were scored by Wilf Carter (14 mins), John S. Williams (55 mins) and Ken Maloy (85 mins). The homesters also had a goal dis-allowed (incidentally, we thought it was a good one !), but we were unfortunate to some extent when Geoff Hurst hit the bar. It was the fourth successive season that we had been dismissed from the F.A. Cup in the Third Round.

9 January 1962

RAY HOUGHTON (1984) Born this day Glasgow, Scotland

Houghton was born in Scotland but began his football career south of the border with the Hammers where he came through the ranks and signed professional forms as a 17 year-old 5 July 1979. Ray's endeavour failed to make any impact at Upton Park and after 3 years, in which he made just 1 appearance as substitute in the last half-hour against Arsenal a 0-2 defeat 1st May 1982 at Highbury. Hammers had to allow this talented young Scot to go to Craven Cottage 7th July 1982 due to excellent form by Trevor Brooking and Alan Devonshire. That sole appearance puts him some way behind Billy Bonds in the record books. It was at the West London club that his name grew as a young, hardworking ballplayer but he made the First Division grade with Oxford United following a transfer from Craven Cottage at a big figure, and moved further north to join League Champions Liverpool for an even bigger fee in 1987. Although born in Glasgow, he was capped for the Republic of Ireland in 1986 through family qualifications, culminating in the World Cup Finals in 1990 which were held in Italy. Ray joined Aston Villa in 1992 and later played for Crystal Palace, Reading and wound down his career at Stevenage Borough.

NOTTINGHAM FOREST : Football League First Division

City Ground

0 - 3

13 January 1962

Att: 20,537

Leslie

Kirkup

Bond

Hurst

Brown

Moore

Crawford

Woosnam

Tindall

Dick

Musgrove

ASTON VILLA : Football League First Division

Upton Park

2 - 0 (Dick, Woosnam)

20 January 1962

Att: 20,284

Leslie

Kirkup

Bond

Bovington

Brown

Moore

Scott

Woosnam

Sealey

Dick

Musgrove

Image courtesy of John Northcutt

West Ham United snapped a three-game losing streak as they overcame Aston Villa on this day in 1962. After defeats to Nottingham Forest and to Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup, the Hammers found the net for the first time in 1962 against the Villans. The Hammers went off to a flying start. After only two minutes a free-kick taken by Tony Scott was headed in by Phil Woosnam; then in the 18th minute Woosnam combined well with Malcolm Musgrove to provide John Dick with an easy chance to make it 2-0. After that Villa "put up the shutters" and were content to merely keep us out. They had little to offer in attack, and eventually ended scoreless for the fifth match in succession. It was not a very thrilling occasion for the 20,284 attendance. At the end of the season the Hammers were comfortable in eighth out of the 22 teams whilst Aston Villa finished one place above them.

CHELSEA : Football League First Division

Stamford Bridge

1 - 0 (Moore)

3 February 1962

Att: 34,259

Leslie

Kirkup

Bond

Bovington

Brown

Moore

Scott

Woosnam

Sealey

Tindall

Musgrove

The Hammers travelled the short distance to Stamford Bridge where they faced Chelsea in front of 34,259. The Blues were fighting against relegation at the time and were on top in the early stages with winger Peter Brabrook causing problems for left back John Bond. For the Hammers Phil Woosnam was in good form and had a hand in the opening goal. He passed to Bobby Moore, who hit the ball first time with his right foot from outside the penalty box past Peter Bonetti. Thee minutes after the interval Mel Scott brought down Ron Tindall inside the area, up stepped John Bond to take the penalty but he blazed the ball high and wide. The Pensioners were relieved and came more into the game with Frank Bluntstone going close on two occasions. Hammers’ keeper Lawrie Leslie gave a good performance and the Blues fire steadily died as the defence held firm to gain a 1-0 victory.

SHEFFIELD UNITED : Football League First Division

Upton Park

1 - 2 (Woosnam)

10 February 1962

Att: 21,829

Leslie

Kirkup

Bond

Bovington

Brown

Moore

Scott

Woosnam

Sealey

Dick

Musgrove

LEICESTER CITY : Football League First Division

Filbert Street

2 - 2 (Dick, Woosnam)

17 February 1962

Att: 21,312

Leslie

Kirkup

Bond

Bovington

Brown

Moore

Scott

Woosnam

Sealey

Dick

Musgrove

IPSWICH TOWN : Football League First Division

Upton Park

2 - 2 (Dick, Kirkup)

24 February 1962

Att: 27,763

Leslie

Kirkup

Bond

Bovington

Brown

Moore

Scott

Boyce

Sealey

Dick

Musgrove

Ipswich Town came to Upton Park under the managership of Alf Ramsey. The Suffolk club was holding third place in the First Division table with 35 points from 28 games and we were a point behind them but having played one game more. The match drew a gate of 27,763, nearly 6.000 up on the previous home fixture. It was a fine game, that ended in a 2-2 draw. John Dick scored the first goal in the seventh minute, then Jirnmy Leadbetter levelled the count after 21 minutes. The second half opened sensationally, Joe Kirkup netting within 30 seconds of the kick-off. Town's second equaliser was from the penalty-spot, Ted Phillips making the 71st-minute conversion. Ex-Hammer Andy Nelson was the visiting captain, his contemporary for us being John Bond.

2nd March 1962

MIKE SMALL (1991-1994) Born this day Birmingham, West Midlands

Signed just days before the start of the 1991-92 campaign from Second Division Brighton & Hove Albion for a fee of £400,000. Had just one season with the Seagulls, scoring 21 goals in their challenge for promotion which ended in the play-offs. Brighton signed him from the Greek club PAOK De Salonique for a fee in the region of £70,000. Mike gained useful experience on the Continent, having previously had spells with Standard Liege (Belgium), Twente and Go Ahead Eagles (both Holland). He began his pro career with Luton Town but, frustrated in his efforts to make the first team breakthrough, he went on loan to Peterborough for a brief spell before turning his attention abroad. Enjoyed a very productive first season with the Hammers. Making his debut in the 0-0 draw against Luton Town at Upton Park on the 17th August 1991. The tall, powerful striker scored 13 goals in his first 20 appearances and while it was an impossible sequence to sustain, Small's final haul in his debut season in the top flight was 18 goals. Loss of form and a series of injuries prevented Small from making a big name for himself at the Boleyn Ground. A one month Loan spell with Wolverhampton Wanderers was arranged in September 1993, and then a short loan with Charlton Athletic followed, with further injuries the big man was allowed to leave on a free transfer in the summer of 1994. Went into non-league management at Haringey Borough, Kingsbury Town and Waltham Forest in late 2007.

BURNLEY : Football League First Division

Turf Moor

0 - 6

3 March 1962

Att: 24,379

Leslie

Kirkup

Lyall

Bovington

Brown

Moore

Scott

Woosnam

Sealey

Dick

Musgrove

Table-topping Burnley pulled out all the stops, and thrashed us by six clear goals at Turf Moor.

8 March 1962

JOHNNY BYRNE signs from CRYSTAL PALACE for a fee of £55,000 and an exchange of RON BRETT

SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY : Football League First Division

Debut programme signed by Johnny Byrne

Hillsborough

0 - 0

17 March 1962

Att: 30,404

Leslie

Kirkup

Bond

Hurst

Brown

Moore

Sealey

Woosnam

Byrne

Tindall

Musgrove

JOHNNY BYRNE makes his Hammers debut against SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY at Hillsborough

MANCHESTER CITY : Football League First Division

Upton Park

0 - 4

24 March 1962

Att: 25,808

Leslie

Kirkup

Bond

Hurst

Brown

Moore

Woodley

Woosnam

Byrne

Tindall

Musgrove

Ron Tindall

This was a "disaster day" for the Hammers. Placed fifth in the First Division table, we were rated " certs" for a victory over Manchester City who occupied a position two-thirds of the way down the table - especially as we had won at Maine Road by 5-3 earlier in the season. The vagaries of football form were amply illustrated by the result-a four-nil victory for the Mancunians that shattered the hopes of most of the 25,808 spectators. Joe Hayes scored City's opening goal in the 17th minute, but all the concluding three came from Peter Dobing {36, 57, 81 mins.). Peter had secured a trio in the previous meeting, so a double hat-trick against the same club in the same season was a notable performance.

BLACKBURN ROVERS : Football League First Division

Ewood Park

0 - 1

28 March 1962

Att: 8,876

Leslie

Kirkup

Bond

Hurst

Brown

Moore

Woodley

Woosnam

Byrne

Tindall

Musgrove

WEST BROMWICH ALBION : Football League First Division

The Hawthorns

1 - 0 (Musgrove

31 March 1962

Att: 16,937

Leslie

Kirkup

Bond

Hurst

Brown

Moore

Woodley

Woosnam

Byrne

Tindall

Musgrove

BIRMINGHAM CITY : Football League First Division

Upton Park

2 - 2 (Musgrove 2)

6 April 1962

Att: 22,668

Leslie

Kirkup

Bond

Hurst

Brown

Moore

Woodley

Byrne

Sealey

Tindall

Musgrove

A notable date as this was the first "Friday Night Football" match at Upton Park. The First Division encounter v. Birmingham City was the subject of an experiment to see whether Friday evening soccer was any greater attraction than at other times. In the event 22,668 spectators turned up, which was just about the same as the average for recent Saturday games at that time. We subsequently opinioned that as there were strong counter-attractions on Saturday afternoons the Friday night alternative might be worth considering. So we applied to the League to make our 1962-63 season home fixtures in August, September and April on the corresponding Friday evenings (subject to the agreement of our opponents). However, we eventually reverted to Mondays the following season. The game against Birmingham City ended in a 2-2 draw. All the goals came in the second half; Malcolm Musgrove (53 mins), Jimmy Bloomfield (56 mins) and Stan Lynn (59 mins) for City, and Musgrove for the Hammers again with a Quarter-hour to go.

11 April 1962

PHIL WOOSNAM 13th WALES cap against NORTHERN IRELAND Home Championship Ninian Park, Cardiff 4-0

EVERTON : Football League First Division

Goodison Park

0 - 3

14 April 1962

Att: 35,108

Leslie

Kirkup

Bond

Hurst

Brown

Moore

Woosnam

Tindall

Byrne

Dick

Musgrove

Image courtsey of Richard Miller

CARDIFF CITY : Football League First Division

Upton Park

4 - 1 (Byrne, Crawford, Sealey, Baker [og])

20 April 1962

Att: 25,459

Leslie

Kirkup

Lyall

Peters

Lansdowne

Moore

Scott

Byrne

Sealey

Dick

Crawford

MARTIN PETERS make his Hammers debut against CARDIFF CITY at Upton Park

Manager Ron Greenwood made six changes for this match against relegation candidates Cardiff City, with Martin Peters making his Hammers debut. On 15 minutes a tamely hit shot from Tony Scott was diverted past his own keeper by Baker to give the Hammers the lead in this First Division fixture. After 53 minutes Johnny Byrne found Alan Sealey who screwed a shot into the far corner for 2-0. The Bluebirds reduced the deficit when Pickerell headed past Lawrie Leslie, but 12 minutes from time Johnny Dick headed on Byrne's cross and the unfortunate Baker again put the ball into his own net. Five minutes later Byrne finally scored his first goal for the Club when, from a Crawford pass, he shot past two defenders. The Good Friday crowd went home pleased with the 4-1 win which put the Hammers sixth in the table.

ARSENAL : Football League First Division

Upton Park

3 - 3 (Dick, Lansdowne, Scott

21 April 1962

Att: 31,912

Leslie

Kirkup

Lyall

Peters

Lansdowne

Moore

Scott

Byrne

Sealey

Dick

Crawford

It was a far-from-lucky Easter for Hammers' goalkeepers. A fractured finger put Lawrie Leslie out of action at Upton Park on the Saturday (John Lyall deputising between the sticks).

CARDIFF CITY : Football League First Division

Ninian Park

0 - 3

23 April 1962

Att: 11,274

Rhodes

Bond

Peters

Hurst

Brown

Moore

Musgrove

Woosnam

Sealey

Byrne

Crawford

Lawrie Leslie's deputy Brian Rhodes went to hospital with a dislocated shoulder - Martin Peters taking his place on that occasion.

24th April 1962

STUART PEARCE (1999-2001) Born this day Hammersmith, London

Clubs: Wealdstone, Coventry City, Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United, West Ham United, Manchester City

England Under-21 manager and former West Ham United left-back Stuart Pearce made 50 starts in his two seasons at the Boleyn Ground. Famously nicknamed Psycho, the tough-tackling full-back signed for the Hammers in August 1999, having fallen down the pecking order under

Ruud Gullit at St James' Park.

Sadly, his first season at the club was wrecked by injury, with Pearce twice fracturing his left leg in the space of just six months. Despite that misfortune, he would go on to start all but four of the Hammers' 38 league fixtures the following campaign, as Harry Redknapp's last season at the helm saw the Hammers finish 15th in the top flight. Pearce too, moved on in the summer, making the switch to Maine Road before calling time on

his illustrious career at the end of the 2001/02 campaign, with 83 England caps to his name.

BOLTON WANDERERS : Football League First Division

Burnden Park

0 - 1

28 April 1962

Att: 17,333

Dickie

Kirkup

Lyall

Peters

Lansdowne

Moore

Scott

Byrne

Sealey

Dick

Crawford

ALAN DICKIE makes his Hammers debut against BOLTON WANDERERS at Burnden Park

FULHAM : Football League First Division

Upton Park

4 - 1 (Crawford 2, Dick 2)

30 April 1962

Att: 24,737

Dickie

Kirkup

Burkett

Peters

Lansdowne

Moore

Scott

Byrne

Sealey

Dick

Crawford

JACK BURKETT makes his Hammers debut against FULHAM at Upton Park

Fulham had a season of ups-and-downs. They reached the F-A. Cup Semi-Final, losing to Burnley after a replay ; but their First Division career was in doubt as they faded in mid season after a bright start. They lost this match 2- 4, hut escaped the "drop." as near-neighbours Chelsea accompanied Cardiff City into Division Two. There were three goals in the firsl half; Jim Langley's 36th-minute penalty was sandwiched by two goals from John Dick (32, 39 mins), Ian Crawford made it 3-1 a minute after the resumption; Jackie Henderson reduced the Cottagers' arrears (65 mins); then Crawford scored his second with 22 mins. remaining on the clock.

16 May 1962

PHIL WOOSNAM 14th WALES cap against BRAZIL an International Friendly Estadio do Morumbi, Sao Paulo 1-3

20 May 1962

BOBBY MOORE 13th Hammer to make his ENGLAND debut against PERU an International Friendly Estadio Nacional de Lima, Lima 4-0

1962 WORLD CUP FINALS - PERU

31 May 1962

BOBBY MOORE 2nd ENGLAND cap against HUNGARY in the World Cup Finals Estadio Braden Cooper, Rancagua 1-2

2 June 1962

BOBBY MOORE 3rd ENGLAND cap against ARGENTINA in the World Cup Finals Estadio Braden Cooper, Rancagua 3-1

7 June 1962

BOBBY MOORE 4th ENGLAND cap against BULGARIA in the World Cup Finals Estadio Braden Cooper, Rancagua 0-0

10 June 1962

BOBBY MOORE 5th ENGLAND cap against Brazil in the World Cup Finals Estadio Sausalito, Vina del Mar 1-3

West Ham United's Bobby Moore was only 21 and playing just his fifth game for England when they faced the mighty Brazil in the 1962 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals.

Brazil were without Pele, who had injured himself attempting a long-range shot in the group stage, but the South Americans still possessed a huge array of talent for Moore

and his team-mates to deal with.

The young centre-half partnered Tottenham Hotspur's Maurice Norman at the heart of the England defence and things initially went well for Walter Winterbottom's side.

Garrincha put Brazil in front on 31 minutes, but Italian-based striker Gerry Hitchens levelled matters before half-time.

After the break, however, it was a different story as goals from Vava and Garrincha put the game out of England's reach by the hour-mark. For the young Moore, the game and

the 1962 tournament as a whole served as a Footballing education that undoubtedly aided his development. Every West Ham supporter knows that Moore put that education to

good use on home turf four years later...

1960-61 First XI Season 1961-62 1962-63 First XI