West Ham United have played at Wembley no fewer than nine
times in the club's 117-year history, winning five times and drawing
twice.
While the Hammers have waited 31 years since their most-recent trip
down Wembley Way for the 1981 League Cup final, there was once a time in
the club's history when the Home of Football became something of a
second home.
Today, whufc.com looks back on West Ham at Wembley ahead of the
club's tenth visit for Saturday's npower Championship Play-Off final
with Blackpool.
1923 FA Cup final
Bolton Wanderers 2-0 West Ham United28 April 1923
The 'White Horse' final was the first FA Cup final and first football
match ever played at the newly-built Empire Stadium, attracting an
estimated crowd of up to 300,000 spectators. An official crowd of
126,047 watched West Ham United take on Bolton Wanderers, with police
and a now-famous grey horse called Billie helping to clear the pitch for
kick-off. In the presence of King George V, Bolton emerged 2-0 winners.
However, the Trotters' second goal will forever be the source of
controversy as the Hammers claimed Jack Smith's shot had hit the post
and not entered the net, only to be awarded by referee David Asson.
1940 Football League War Cup final
West Ham United 1-0 Blackburn Rovers
8 June 1940
West Ham United claimed their first victory at the Home of Football
by defeating another Lancashire side, Blackburn Rovers, in the inaugural
Football League War Cup final. Seventeen years after defeat by Bolton
Wanderers in the FA Cup final, the Hammers beat Blackburn 1-0 through a
goal by Sam Small. The match kicked-off at 6.30pm at Wembley, despite
fears that London would be bombed by the Luftwaffe, putting the players
and crowd in mortal danger. The Football League War Cup was presented to
the winning team by A.V.Alexander, First Lord of the Admiralty.
1964 FA Cup final
West Ham United 3-2 Preston North End
2 May 1964
Yet another Lancashire club provided the opposition on West Ham
United's third visit to Wembley. Division Two side Preston North End
took the lead over Ron Greenwood's side through outside-left Doug Holden
on ten minutes, only for 18-year-old John Sissons to level matters two
minutes later. Preston went back in front through centre forward Alex
Dawson five minutes before half-time and a shock looked to be on the
cards. However, Geoff Hurst made it 2-2 on 52 minutes before Ronnie
Boyce popped up in the final seconds to secure West Ham's first-ever FA
Cup.
1965 European Cup Winners' Cup final
West Ham United 2-0 TSV 1860 Munich19 May 1965
West Ham United made their third visit to Wembley in a little more
than 12 months to take on German Cup holders TSV 1860 Munich in the
European Cup Winners' Cup final exactly 48 years ago. The Hammers had
beaten La Gantoise, Sparta Prague, Lausanne and Real Zaragoza to reach
the final, while their opponents had defeated US Luxembourg, FC Porto,
Legia Warsaw and Torino. The final itself saw West Ham secure an
entertaining victory through two goals in three minutes from Alan
Sealey. The striker hit the net in the 70th and 72nd minutes, scoring
from a Ronnie Boyce pass and then again when goalkeeper Petar Redankovic
dropped the ball at his feet.
1975 FA Cup final
West Ham United 2-0 Fulham3 May 1975
West Ham United extended their Wembley unbeaten run to five matches
by defeating cross-London rivals Fulham 2-0 in the FA Cup final. Despite
the presence of Hammers legend Bobby Moore and the likes of Alan
Mullery in the Cottagers side, West Ham proved too strong. Striker Alan
Taylor was the hero of the hour, scoring twice in the space of five
second-half minutes. The first goal arrived after Fulham goalkeeper
Peter Mellor had parried a Billy Jennings shot, while the second came
when Mellor failed to hold Graham Paddon's shot and Taylor pounced.
1975 FA Charity Shield
Derby County 2-0 West Ham United
9 August 1975
Division One champions Derby County proved too strong for FA Cup
winners West Ham United in the Hammers' second appearance in the FA
Charity Shield. Dave Mackay's Rams took the lead on 20 minutes when
Kevin Hector hit the net. Derby's second goal arrived two minutes before
half-time through Roy McFarland.
1980 FA Cup final
Arsenal 0-1 West Ham United10 May 1980
Division Two side West Ham United were the outsiders when they took
on Division One club Arsenal in the 1980 FA Cup final. The Hammers had
already overcome West Bromwich, Orient, Swansea, Aston Villa and Everton
to reach the Wembley showpiece. There, Trevor Brooking became the hero
with a header to divert Stuart Pearson's wayward shot past
goalkeeper Pat Jennings. John Lyall's side also included the likes of
captain Billy Bonds, who lifted his second FA Cup, Alan Devonshire, Phil
Parkes, Ray Stewart, Frank Lampard and Geoff Pike. Meanwhile,
midfielder Paul Allen became the youngest-ever Wembley FA Cup finalist
at the age of 17 years and 256 days.
1980 FA Charity Shield
Liverpool 1-0 West Ham United
9 August 1980
West Ham United came up short in their third successive FA Charity
Shield as Terry McDermott's 17th-minute goal proved to be the only
strike of the game. A crowd of 90,000 saw the Reds, who had won the
Division One title, edge out the FA Cup holders at Wembley. Nine of the
Hammers' 1980 FA Cup heroes started the game, with left-back Paul Brush
and winger Pat Holland the two players to come in for Frank Lampard and
Stuart Pearson respectively.
1981 Football League Cup finalLiverpool 1-1 West Ham United
14 March 1981
West Ham United's most-recent visit to Wembley occurred more than 31
years ago in March 1981. The Division Two champions-elect took on
all-conquering Liverpool in the League Cup final in front of a 100,000
capacity crowd. The match itself was a controversial affair as the Reds
took the lead with just two minutes of extra-time remaining. Alan
Kennedy was the scorer, but the Hammers claimed the goal should have
been disallowed as Sammy Lee was lying in an offside position. West Ham
snatched a draw through Ray Stewart's last-gasp penalty, only to lose
out 2-1 in the replay at Villa Park 17 days later.
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