Nailing the Hammers Trivia Quiz

Answer: Works teams

Castle Swifts FC was founded in 1892 as a works team for the Castle Shipping Line. The following year they merged with another local team, Old St. Lukes, to become Old Castle Swifts FC. At the time they were the first and only professional team in the county of Essex but their demise came quickly, in 1895, when owner Donald Currie withdrew his finance.

Thames Ironworks FC was founded in 1895 as a works team for the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company. They took over Old Castle Swifts' ground and many of their players. Success came quickly, and by 1900 they were firmly established in the first division of England's Southern League. It was at that point that they decided to disband and reform the club under the name of West Ham United.

The past lives on in West Ham's nicknames of Hammers and Irons.

Answer: The Boleyn Ground

The area around West Ham's ground is known as the Boleyn. This arose from a house that used to stand on the site until its demolition, in 1880, called Green Street House and nicknamed Boleyn Castle. In Tudor times, the house was owned by Richard Breame, who was a servant of Henry VIII, and local legend had it that Henry used to meet Anne here during their courtship.

Answer: The Academy of Football

Ron Greenwood coached West Ham between 1961 and 1974, although the emphasis on a more cerebral approach to the game had been introduced by his predecessor, Ted Fenton. Under Greenwood's management, a number of young players were developed by the club including Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst, Martin Peters, Harry Redknapp, Ronnie Boyce, and Trevor Brooking.

The 'Academy' tag has stuck ever since, and many leading players such as Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole, Glen Johnson, and Michael Carrick began their careers at West Ham.

Answer: Black footballers

There had been black players in earlier times. Plymouth's Jack Leslie was called up for England in the 1920s until the selectors realised his colour, but Best played at a time when black players were first appearing in significant numbers. Sadly, they had to face up to a considerable amount of racist abuse both off and on the pitch.

Best played 186 games for West Ham and scored 47 goals. He played internationally for Bermuda, having made his debut at the tender age of 15. His goal to game ratio was remarkable, scoring 131 goals in just 135 games.

Answer: They were 4-0 down at halftime in the first leg

That game must have seen an impressive halftime team talk because West Ham came back with two second half goals to lose by only 4-2. They then won the second leg 3-1 to progress on the away goals rule. Germany's Eintracht Frankfurt were swept aside in the semi-final, but the final was one step too far as they lost 4-2 to Belgium's Anderlecht. If only there had been a second leg in the final.

Answer: 1980 against Arsenal

At the time, Paul Allen was the youngest player to play in a Wembley FA Cup final (i.e. since 1923). He was 17 years and 256 days old. A worldwide TV audience watched as Young tripped Allen when the youngster was clean through on goal. Thankfully, this did not have a bearing on the overall result which West Ham won by 1-0.

The incident did though, play a significant part in persuading soccer's lawmakers to punish such fouls with a sending off (red card) rather than a booking (yellow card). West Ham's 1975 triumph was also noteworthy in being achieved with a team made up entirely of English players.

Answer: The Terminator

Anyone that saw Dicks play will understand precisely why the nickname was so appropriate for a powerful, no-nonsense defender. He was also a thunderous striker of free kicks and penalties. It came as a great surprise when in 1993, he was signed by Liverpool as his style of play seemed at odds with the then reputation of the club.

A season later however, normal service was resumed when he rejoined West Ham having made just 24 appearances for Liverpool.

Answer: Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters

The statue lies on the corner of Green Street and Barking Road, at a spot that Anne Boleyn is said to have cursed after falling from her horse. It commemorates those West Ham players involved in England's World Cup success of 1966, and is based upon an iconic photograph taken during the post-match celebrations. That explains why Everton's Ray Wilson also features despite never having played for West Ham. The statue, titled "Champions", was sculpted by Philip Jackson who went on to sculpt another statue of Moore at the new Wembley Stadium.

Bobby Moore made 544 appearances for West Ham but also played against them in the 1975 FA Cup Final, having joined Fulham in the twilight of his career. Tragically, he died of cancer in 1993 at the age of 51. Since then, West Ham have been active in raising money for the Bobby Moore Fund which promotes awareness of colon cancer.

Answer: A special fair play award

Di Canio might be considered a surprising recipient given his chequered career. In 1998, he received an 11-match ban, whilst playing for English club Sheffield Wednesday for pushing over a referee. Then, in 2005, he was banned for one game for giving a Nazi salute during a game in the Italian league.

Di Canio received the award for catching the ball and turning down a goal scoring opportunity after Everton goalkeeper Paul Gerrard was injured in a game against the Hammers.

Answer: Sir Trevor Brooking

Billy Bonds (1967-1988) set a club record for most appearances at 793. Vic Watson (1920-1935) set a record for most goals scored at 326.

Sir Trevor Brooking had a deserved reputation as an intelligent, entertaining, creative and clean footballer. He played 528 games for West Ham between 1967 and 1984 and scored 88 goals, including the winner in the 1980 FA Cup Final against Arsenal. After retiring, he continued in soccer as a pundit and in sports administration where he chaired Sport England. He was knighted in the Queen's birthday honours list of 2004, having previously received the MBE and CBE. Despite the desire of many fans, Brooking has stated that he does not want a career in management. He has though, had two temporary spells in charge as a 'caretaker' manager which produced a record of:
Played 14 Won 9 Drawn 4 Lost 1.
Not surprisingly, this led to his being described as the best manager that West Ham never had.