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WEST HAM UNITED
FOOTBALL PROGRAMMES &
Collectables through the Decade
theyflysohigh : Steve Marsh
A Pictorial History
1923-24 Memorabilia
BARRATT'S PHOTO PRESS Ltd
Postcard
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Silvertown MP Jack Jones welcomes George Kay and West Ham Officials
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On 10 April 1924, Glasgow Celtic provided the opposition in a friendly match for the benefit of the St. Anne's Young Men's Club. In the morning before the match took place the players and officials of both teams paid a visit to the Houses of Parliament where they were entertained by Mr. Jack Jones, M.P., the Mayor of West Ham and local M.P. Mr. Will Thorne.
Despite the inclement weather on the evening the 13,000 present witnessed a superb match, and although contested in a friendly spirit, those present was rewarded with a splendid example between the difference in playing styles adopted by the English and Scottish footballers.
An additional interest of the game was the return to the Boleyn Ground of former West Ham centre-forward Syd Puddefoot, the Falkirk player was an invited guest player for the Hoops. Puddefoot had moved to Scotland two years earlier for £5,000, a record fee that cemented his place in football history for a player moving from an English club to a Scottish Club. The Limehouse born player was delighted to be back in east London and said "I feel like a schoolboy on holiday, you wouldn't believe how I have been longing to turn out again on this ground".
The game also marked the return to the Hammers' side of Vic Watson who had been sidelined for some six months with a foot injury. It was an ironic twist of fate that Watson should return to the Claret and Blue for the match as it was he who had taken the place of the local hero Puddefoot when he had transferred north of the boarder.
The Hammers also used the friendly to field their own guest player, Clapton Orient’s forward Vivian Gibbins and within three minutes of the start it paid dividends when the amateur international headed home a Billy Edwards centre from the right wing to the delight of the home supporters. Gibbins impressive display didn’t go unnoticed and West Ham manager Syd King added the free scoring centre-forward to his playing squad four months later.
Despite the heavy ground conditions Celtic gave an exhibition of their close passing game, coupled with Puddefoot’s characteristic trademark dribbles and dashes which the Boleyn faithful fondly remembered and the Glaswegians’ got their reward with an equaliser through the tricky skills of their Scottish international inside-forward Joseph Cassidy.
The Hammers’ restored their advantage in the first minute of the second period through Billy Moore and inevitably, Puddefoot would take centre-stage when he levelled the scores with a fine left foot shot as the game ended in a creditable 2-2 draw.
The St. Anne's Club benefited to the extent of some £500 whilst the spectators had the advantage of seeing a team whose reputation had been further advanced by the winning of the Scottish Cup the previous season.
BOYS MAGAZINE
Football (Third) Series 1923-24
The Third Series 1923-24 featured two teams per sheet.
Sepia gravures, unnumbered series of 6 team groups. Plain backs, inscribed to front "Boys' Magazine"
Sheet size 140x90mm
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West Ham United
H. POPPLETON & Sons (Confectionery)
Clarnico Footballers
Series of 50 cards. Clarke, Nicholls & Coombs were sweet manufacturers based in Hackney Wick, London and that company is the likely source for these
unnumbered anonymous plain-backed cards, hence the name Clarnico. (Clarke, Nicholls, Coombs)
Size: 63x35mm
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Sorry No Image
George Kay
Jimmy Ruffell
William Williams
Please note:
Trade card catalogues often refer to a player called Goodwin being included as a West Ham player in this set. No such player with that name exists. Until a card turns up with his image its open to debate.
JOHN FILSHILL Ltd
Footballers
J.W. Filshill Ltd. was established in 1875. The family confectionery manufacturer is still going strong today, concentrating on the cash and carry and delivered wholesale businesses (KeyStore). Back in 1924 under the Lotus Toffees brand they issued an unnumbered series of 25 footballer cards. Inscribed on reverse "Makers John Filshill Ltd. Glasgow"
Size 69x37mm
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Victor Watson
J.A. PATTREIOUEX
Football Series FB
Black and white, numbered series of 96 photyographic cards, series FB.
Inscribed on reverse "These Copyright Photos are issued with Casket Cigarettes Sweet and Mild".
Size 69x40mm
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FB20. Vic Watson
FB6. West Ham v. Derby
FB57. West Ham v. Cardiff
FB23. West Ham United v. Newcastle United
D.C. THOMSON & Co. Ltd
The Rover League Ladder
Believed to be the 'Holy Grail' of League Ladder/Team Tab collecting; this, the earliest known example, dates to 1923
(the featured teams correspond to those of the First Division in season 1923-24) and was issued with D.C. Thomson's 'ROVER' comic.
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West Ham United team tab
Images courtesy of Alan Jenkins and Roger Pashby
D.C. THOMSON & Co. Ltd
Vanguard Photo Gallery
Series of 10 gatefold cards and given free with the 'Vanguard comic. Each card depicts 4 footballers making 40 portraits of footballers in total. West Ham's Jack Young was given free with issue number 12 dated 29 December 1923 and also depicts with W. Jennings (Bolton Wanderers), M.Forsyth (Aberdeen) and F. Morris (West Bromwich Albion).
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Jack Young
D.C. THOMSON & Co. Ltd
Star Footballers of 1924 (Part 2)
The Adventure Album's were issued as two booklets. (Part 1 - The 50 Star Players of 1924) and this one (Part 2 - Star Footballers of 1924), which features William Brown. Part 2 was given free with 'Adventure' magazine issue No.126 dated 9th February 1924.
These player portraits are usually found snipped from the pages.
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Image courtesy of Phil Martin
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William Brown
Periodicals
ALL SPORTS
The Topical Illustrated Weekly
23 August 1923
George Kay the Captain of West Ham United
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TOM WEBSTER
Tom Webster's Annual 1924
Gilbert Thomas Webster (1886–1962) was a British cartoonist and caricaturist. Born in Bilston, West Midlands, Webster specialised in sporting cartoons. He originally worked in a railway booking office and taught himself to draw. In 1904 he won a newspaper cartoon contest, and this started off his career in cartooning. He started out at the Sports Argus in Birmingham, then later the Evening News, before joining the Daily Mail in 1919. He specialised in cartoons of horseracing, cricket, golf and football and stayed at the Mail for over twenty years. In his capacity as a sports cartoonist, he became friends and golf partner with Arsenal manager Herbert Chapman, and one account says it was a combination of clothing worn by Webster that inspired Chapman to add white sleeves to Arsenal's red shirts.
Webster also worked on caricaturising politicians, so much so that on the night of the 1929 general election, a selection of his cartoons was shown in public in London's Trafalgar Square. He left the Daily Mail in 1940, but continued to draw for other newspapers, and his own range of annuals, until 1960. He died in 1962, aged 76.
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Cartoon which first appeared in the Daily Mail on 7 February 1923 depicts West Ham United beating Brighton & Hove Albion in the FA Cup Second Round replay 1-0 at Upton Park