WEST HAM UNITED
theyflysohigh : Steve Marsh
FOOTBALL PROGRAMMES &
Memorabilia through the Decade
A Pictorial History
1957-58 Football League Second Division
Manager : Ted Fenton
It was a moderate beginning to the campaign with just three wins in the first ten games. Billy Dare was on form, scoring a hat-trick at Bristol Rovers in the 3–2 victory, and two more against Fulham at home as the Cottagers were beaten by the same score. In October there was a fine 3–0 win at leaders Charlton Athletic and more good news followed when days later West Ham signed centre-forward Vic Keeble from Newcastle. Keeble scored on his debut in the 1–1 home draw with Doncaster Rovers and soon set up a useful partnership with Johnny Dick. The Hammers were now starting to put together an unbeaten run as Huddersfield Town lost 5–2 at the Boleyn and a Vic Keeble hat-trick helped the Hammers beat Stoke City 5–0 at home. At Lincoln City in December Keeble and Dick both scored twice in the 6–1 victory. After a run of 13 games undefeated the Hammers were finally beaten 2–1 by Ipswich Town on Boxing Day at Portman Road. Two days later Bristol Rovers faced the backlash as West Ham thrashed them 6–1 at home, with John Smith claiming a hat-trick.
First Division Blackpool were the visitors in the FA Cup and, bang in form, Hammers sent them home beaten 5–1 with a hat-trick from Vic Keeble. The next round brought Third Division Stockport County to Upton Park. The Cheshire club put up a brave fight, finally losing 3–2 to put West Ham through to the fifth round where they faced Fulham at home. In an exciting tie it was the Cottagers who went through, winning 3–2. Returning to the league, after Swansea were beaten 6–2 at home there was a good 4–1 win at neighbours Leyton Orient. Now favourites for promotion, the Hammers stormed to victory at home to Rotherham United, winning 8–0 with Johnny Dick scoring four. Fellow promotion candidates Charlton and Liverpool both drew at Upton Park before the final day brought a trip to Middlesbrough. Dick, Keeble and Musgrove were the scorers in a 3–1 win and West Ham were Second Division champions. They had scored 101 league goals and would be returning to the First Division after an absence of 25 years.
Note:
Players in BOLD made their debuts for West Ham United
LINCOLN CITY
Upton Park
2 - 2 (Dare 13', Allison 49' [pen])
24 August 1957
Att: 18,907
Gregory
Bond
Cantwell
Malcolm
Brown
Allison
Grice
Smith J.
Dare
Dick
Musgrove
The 18,907 inside Upton Park for the season’s opener watched West Ham seize control early, and it took just 13 minutes for the breakthrough. Billy Dare spotted the smallest of openings, stepped into it with purpose, and drove a left‑footer under the bar from 15 yards to put the Hammers in front.
But the lead never settled. Half an hour in, Grainger burst through the middle and coolly lifted the ball over the advancing Ernie Gregory to drag Lincoln level.
Barely had the second half begun when the Imps struck again with a near‑carbon copy. This time it was Smillie who broke through and finished from closer range, leaving Gregory helpless and the visitors suddenly 2–1 up.
The setback lasted less than a minute. Grice was bundled over in the box, and Allison buried the resulting penalty to restore parity and jolt Upton Park back to life.
From there, West Ham pushed hard for the winner. Chances came, chances went, and Lincoln survived by inches — a handful of near‑misses and desperate clearances keeping them afloat. In truth, the Hammers had done more than enough to win it, but wastefulness in front of goal meant the visitors escaped with a point from a match that should have been long out of their reach.
BLACKBURN ROVERS
Ewood Park
1 - 2 (Dare 17')
26 August 1957
Att; 18,845
Gregory
Bond
Cantwell
Malcolm
Brown
Allison
Grice
Smith J.
Dare
Dick
Musgrove
West Ham struck first at Ewood Park after 20 minutes. Malcolm Musgrove’s effort thudded into goalkeeper Leyland’s chest, the rebound falling perfectly for Billy Dare to sweep home and give the Hammers an early advantage.
Musgrove stayed at the heart of the action, “scoring” twice - once in each half - only to see both efforts ruled out for offside. One of them came after he’d beaten a defender before shooting, leaving players and supporters baffled, but the decisions were accepted with as much grace as could be mustered.
What followed was far harder to swallow. In the second half, Blackburn were awarded an equaliser that even the scorer, Bryan Douglas, admitted should never have stood — he later confessed he believed he was “a couple of yards offside.” Despite furious protests, the goal remained.
The setback made an already difficult task even tougher, but West Ham dug in, showing real resolve as they pushed to reclaim the lead. For long spells they looked certain to take something from the game.
Then, with six minutes left, misfortune struck again. Vernon’s hopeful prod toward goal seemed harmless enough, but a deflection off a defender wrong‑footed Gregory and crept in, sealing a cruel defeat that scarcely reflected the balance of play.
BRISTOL ROVERS
Eastville
3 - 2 (Dare 18', 22', 30')
31 August 1957
Att: 26,110
Gregory
Bond
Cantwell
Malcolm
Brown
Allison
Grice
Smith J.
Dare
Dick
Musgrove
The home side exploded out of the blocks and were ahead inside four minutes. Meyer’s fierce drive forced Gregory into a parry, and Ward arrived unmarked to sweep in the rebound. But that early burst was as good as it got for the Bristolians in the first half — because Billy Dare was about to take over.
In the space of twelve devastating minutes, Dare tore the match apart with a hat‑trick of pure opportunism, striking in the 18th, 21st and 30th minutes. His third was the pick of the bunch: a glorious header from a pinpoint Musgrove cross that left Radford helpless.
Musgrove continued to torment the Rovers’ defence. One of his whipped centres forced Radford into a desperate palm‑away, and Dare was there again to crash home from close range. With the wing‑halves pouring forward and the entire forward line swarming, Bristol’s back line endured a harrowing spell of pressure.
At the other end, West Ham’s defence stood firm. Brown repeatedly snuffed out Meyer’s attempts to drive through the middle, and the Hammers looked in complete control. Even when Ward converted Biggs’ cross in the 68th minute to make it 3–2, the visitors’ late push was met with calm, disciplined resistance.
West Ham saw out the storm, their rear‑guard holding strong to secure a hard‑earned victory built on Dare’s ruthless finishing and a relentless attacking display.
BLACKBURN ROVERS
Upton Park
1 - 1 (Dare 25')
2 September 1957
Att: 24,009
BRIAN RHODES
Bond
Cantwell
Malcolm
Brown
Pyke
Grice
Smith J.
Dare
Dick
Musgrove
For 25 minutes at Upton Park, it looked as though West Ham’s luck against Blackburn had finally turned. John Smith slipped a perfectly weighted through‑ball into the path of Billy Dare, and the centre‑forward did the rest - sliding it past the keeper to give the Hammers a deserved lead and a sense that, at last, the tide had shifted.
For the next 64 minutes, that belief held firm. West Ham rode out one or two scares at their own end, created far more at the other, and looked the side most likely to stretch their advantage. Chance after chance flashed across the Blackburn goalmouth, but the second goal refused to come.
Then came the final minute - and with it, the sting. Memories of the contentious meeting at Ewood Park were still raw. Decisions had gone against West Ham that day, and Douglas’s equaliser - scored from what the players were convinced was an offside position — had left tempers frayed. But no one expected lightning to strike twice.
Yet it did. As Brian Rhodes advanced to cut out a late Blackburn attack, Vernon lifted the ball goalwards. Both referee and linesman kept their flags down, despite what looked a clear offside position. The lob dropped into the net, and with it went West Ham’s victory. The sense of injustice was immediate and unmistakable.
The 24,009 inside the ground had already been baffled by several earlier decisions - fouls ignored, innocuous challenges punished, and a general inconsistency that disrupted the rhythm of what should have been a fiercely entertaining contest. Both sides had played with heart and intelligence, defences standing strong in a match defined by cut‑and‑thrust football.
But amid the frustration, one bright note shone through: the debut of 20‑year‑old Brian Rhodes. Calm, composed and assured, he handled everything that came his way with maturity beyond his years. What he had to do, he did well - and on this evidence, he will do so again.
DERBY COUNTY
Upton Park
2 -1 (Smith 21', Cantwell 28')
7 September 1957
Att: 18,955
Rhodes
Bond
Cantwell
Malcolm
Brown
Pyke
Grice
Smith J.
Dare
Dick
Musgrove
A crowd of 18,955 watched the Derby fixture burst into life with three goals in eight breathless first‑half minutes. County struck first, Brown firing them ahead 20 minutes in. But the lead barely had time to settle. Billy Dare carved open the defence and slipped the perfect pass for John Smith, who levelled almost immediately.
Then came the moment that stole the afternoon. Collecting the ball deep inside his own half, Noel Cantwell set off on an extraordinary 80‑yard run. He drifted right, cut back inside, and kept driving as Derby’s defenders marked up, expecting the inevitable pass. It never came. Cantwell powered through to the edge of the box and unleashed a finish that left the goalkeeper helpless - a goal of a lifetime, and one that brought Upton Park to its feet.
The game never quite reached those heights again. The tempo dipped after the break, and although John Bond attempted a similar surging run in search of his own wonder‑goal, West Ham couldn’t add to their tally. The second half faded into something of an anti‑climax, but Cantwell’s solo masterpiece ensured the afternoon would be remembered for one moment of pure, unstoppable brilliance.
SHEFFIELD UNITED
Upton Park
0 - 3
9 September 1957
Att: 21,746
Rhodes
Bond
Cantwell
Malcolm
Brown
Pyke
Grice
Lewis
Dare
Blackburn
Musgrove
We reshaped the forward line with Alan Blackburn and Eddie Lewis at inside‑forward, hoping to inject the extra bite that had been missing. For a few early minutes it looked as though the plan might work: we moved the ball crisply, carved out half‑chances, and had every opportunity to take the lead.
But once Sheffield United struck first, the spark drained from the contest. What might have been an engaging afternoon for the 21,746 present instead sagged into a game where one side seized their moments and the other let them slip away.
The Blades were ruthless where we were hesitant, and Hovland’s hat‑trick told the whole story. His first, on 20 minutes, came from a through‑ball he killed instantly before guiding it inside the far post. His second, ten minutes after the restart, was a poacher’s finish from close range after a rebound fell kindly. And his third, two minutes from time, was another sharp, opportunist strike after a spell of passing around our box.
That readiness to pounce on the briefest opening was the decisive difference between the elevens. Our defence battled gamely enough, but against a forward who needed only a sliver of daylight, it was never going to be enough.
SWANSEA TOWN
Vetch Field
2 - 3 (Dare 31', Malcolm 84')
14 September 1957
Att: 19,352
Rhodes
Bond
Cantwell
Malcolm
Brown
Allison
Grice
Smith J.
Dare
Dick
Musgrove
A crowd of 19,352 watched Swansea tear into the game with real urgency, and it took only twelve minutes for Len Allchurch to slice through two challenges and fire the Welshmen ahead. Their momentum didn’t stop there. Palmer doubled the lead in the 24th minute after Griffiths carved out the opening, and an hour in, Len Allchurch again turned provider, slipping the pass that allowed his brother Ivor to sweep home Swansea’s third.
We kept ourselves in the contest through Dare and Malcolm. Dare struck just before the interval, reacting quickest when Reid could only parry Musgrove’s fierce drive. Malcolm then pulled us within reach six minutes from time, racing on to another Musgrove centre and drilling a low shot from the edge of the box.
By then Swansea had eased off, and our late surge had the home side retreating as we pressed hard for an equaliser. But over the full ninety, the Welshmen had shaded the exchanges. Their sharper finishing repeatedly tested Rhodes, who responded with a string of excellent saves to keep the scoreline respectable.
In our own defence, Malcolm stood out, keeping danger man Ivor Allchurch largely contained. Even so, Swansea’s forwards never stopped probing, keeping our back line stretched and alert throughout a match in which their constant menace ultimately proved decisive.
SHEFFIELD UNITED
Bramall Lane
1 - 2 (Dare 19')
16 September 1957
Att: 7,710
Rhodes
Bond
Cantwell
Malcolm
Brown
Allison
Grice
Dare
BILLY NEVILLE
Dick
Musgrove
We made two changes for the game at Bramall Lane - Dare moved to inside-right in place of Smith and Billy Neville made his League debut at centre-forward. The Blades also had some newcomers, international 'keeper Hodgkinson being among the late call-offs owing to influenza.
Neville had a share in our goal scored 20 minutes after the kick-off. Malcolm passed to Grice who in turn slipped the ball to Neville ; the centre-forward pushed it past the full-back to the winger again, and Dare was on hand to side-foot the ball into the net to end a splendid move.
This success was the outcome of sustained pressure on the Blades' goal, but the home side came into the picture four minutes later when Turley levelled the scores as he raced into the penalty-area to slam home a rebound. The Sheffielders' new centre-forward also made the opening for his side's second tally, as in the 33rd minute he laid up the ball for Hawkesworth to hit it into the roof of the net. From thence onwards exchanges were pretty even, but in genera! the Northerners just had the edge over us. Another disappointment was the attendance, less than 8.000 being present for this evening game.
FULHAM
Upton Park
3 - 2 (Dare 10', 60', Cantwell 70')
21 September 1957
Att: 23,855
Gregory
Bond
Cantwell
Malcolm
Brown
Pyke
Wragg
Dare
Neville
Dick
Musgrove
Nearly 24,000 packed into the Boleyn Ground for a lively local derby, and they saw what they’ve grown used to seeing: West Ham beating Fulham on home turf. The Cottagers’ record in E13 has long been miserable, and this made it five straight home wins against them in as many seasons.
It was a grim afternoon for the West Londoners from the moment they arrived. Already forced into changes with Hill and Lowe unavailable, they ended up making seven alterations to the XI they had submitted the previous day. Even then, they reshuffled again just before kick‑off, with Haynes and Bentley swapping the No. 8 and No. 10 shirts. The switch achieved nothing. We simply countered by switching our wing‑halves, and Andy Malcolm, as reliably as ever, all but erased Johnny Haynes from the match.
Haynes had only one moment to show his international class - but it was a beauty. In the 27th minute he orchestrated a sweeping move that allowed Dwight to level the scores. Within minutes Bentley charged in to put Fulham ahead, but from that point the tide turned sharply. A cut eye sent Edwards off for thirteen minutes, and just before he returned we had equalised, the momentum swinging decisively our way.
We don’t chalk the win up to Fulham’s misfortune. Even before Edwards’ injury it was clear the Hammers intended to fight to the finish, and our three goals reflected that spirit - each one a reminder that chances must be taken.
Fulham keeper Ian Black will feel partly responsible for the first, palming out Musgrove’s drive only for Billy Dare to pounce from close range. But the next two will still be troubling him. Both came from John Bond free‑kicks, both found a Hammer completely unmarked, and both were buried with authority - first Dare with a clever back‑header, then Noel Cantwell with a thumping finish.
LEYTON ORIENT : Southern Floodlight Cup (First Round)
Upton Park
1 - 0 (Dick 30 seconds)
23 September 1957
Att: 10,000
Gregory
Bond
Cantwell
Malcolm
Brown
Pyke
Wragg
Dare
Neville
Dick
Musgrove
Almost before the 10,000 inside the Boleyn Ground had settled on Monday night, Johnny Dick settled the tie. A sharp through‑ball found him unmarked just outside the box, and his left‑foot strike arced into the far top corner to give us the lead with barely a minute played.
What followed was ninety minutes of football that flared into life in bursts. Both goalmouths saw narrow escapes, both goalkeepers produced smart saves, and yet the scoreline refused to budge. In truth, wayward finishing on both sides ensured that Dick’s early strike remained the only addition to the sheet.
Leyton Orient arrived in disarray, making six late changes to their side. One former Hammer, Dave Sexton, dropped out, while another, Jimmy Andrews, came in to face his old team‑mates.
The result continued our recent dominance over our neighbours. Last season’s 4–1 win in this competition, added to a pair of League victories, means we have taken maximum points from all four meetings since Orient returned to Division II.
BARNSLEY
Oakwell
0 - 1
28 September 1957
Att: 12,182
Gregory
Bond
Cantwell
Malcolm
Brown
Lansdowne
Wragg
Dare
Neville
Dick
Musgrove
A crowd of 12,182 saw the Hammers shade the first half and, on balance, deserve more than a goalless interval. The home defence survived several frantic scrambles, and Barnsley were fortunate when their centre‑half escaped punishment after appearing to handle in one of those melees.
After the break the Reds found their rhythm, and Kaye justified his selection as the Football League’s outside‑right for next week’s match against the League of Ireland. Time and again he carved out space and delivered dangerous centres. Two minutes into the half he produced another, and Smith dived in to head home what proved to be the winner — Barnsley’s second post‑war victory over the Hammers.
The Yorkshiremen frequently relied on the offside trap to halt our attacks, and although we sprung it on several occasions, our finishing lacked the precision needed to claim even a point. The exchanges were more even than the scoreline suggests, but Barnsley’s sharper edge in front of goal ultimately told.
LEYTON ORIENT
Upton park
3 - 2 (Lansdowne 23', Lewis 52', Smith 72')
5 October 1957
Att: 25,990
Gregory
Bond
Cooper
Malcolm
Brown
Lansdowne
Dare
Smiith J.
Lewis
Dick
Musgrove
The final score was 3-2, but had it been 5-2 the O's could not have complained, for once we gained the lead the visitors were never really in the picture- Indeed it was "easing off" that cost the Hammers a bigger margin of success, and the Leyton side were quick to seize the opportunity of reducing the arrears when the count was 2-0 and 3-1 in our favour at two stages of the game. This failure to press home the advantage obviously annoyed several of the 26,000 spectators, but although there were periods of rather lacksadaisical exchanges there were also spells when there was plenty to provide entertainment on a fine afternoon. We were, of course, most unfortunate when shots by Lewis and Dare rebounded from the woodwork, and had either of these near-misses found their mark we might well have run riot against opposition which did not show the form it had displayed in beating Middlesbrough by 4-0 a week earlier.
Our scoring was opened by Bill Lansdowne with a good header following a corner taken by Billy Dare; one press report said this was Lansdowne's first League goal, but apparently the writer overlooked the fact that Bill had scored in the fourth minute of the corresponding match last season ; our wing-half evidently specialises in netting against the O's!
The second half produced four more goals. First of all Lewis put us further ahead by finding a gap in the visiting defence, but four minutes later Johnston brought his side back in the game when our defence was in a tangle. Lewis had a hand in our next goal when he centred from the left for Smith to run in and head the ball past Welton, but the O's second was a complete contrast, for Heckman was fully 30 yards out when his hard shot went in off the bar.
CHARLTON ATHLETIC
The Valley
3 - 0 (Smith 6', Musgrove 62', Dare 82')
12 October 1957
Att: 30,437
Gregory
Bond
Cantwell
Malcolm
Brown
Lansdowne
Grice
Smiith J.
Dare
Dick
Musgrove
Although the Athletic forced three early corners, it quickly became clear they would not enjoy their first League meeting with us since 1936. After that brief flurry they were pushed back, and their defence showed its first cracks when Smith, with time to spare, finished from Musgrove’s pass after Dick had created the opening.
Eight minutes before the interval our inside‑left twice came within inches of extending the lead - first with a header against the bar, then with a goalmouth effort that Duff somehow blocked. He made amends after the break, though, back‑heeling neatly for Musgrove to unleash a terrific drive from the edge of the box for our second on 62 minutes.
The Hammers’ third arrived eight minutes from time, the product of a sweeping Dick–Smith–Grice move. Grice’s cross found Dare, who met it with a flying header to complete a well‑deserved 3–0 victory.
DONCASTER ROVERS
Upton Park
1 - 1 (Keeble 58')
19 October 1957
Att: 20,216
Gregory
Bond
Cantwell
Malcolm
Brown
Lansdowne
Grice
Dare
VIC KEEBLE
Dick
Musgrove
The mood at Upton Park was a bleak one. 20,216 spectators endured a drab, fractured afternoon in which the football was repeatedly smothered by petty fouls and unchecked handling offences. From the kick‑off Doncaster Rovers set the tone with their spoiling tactics, and with only the odd exception they showed exactly why they sit so low in the table.
Regrettably, we allowed ourselves to be dragged down with them. The crisp, confident football that had earned praise in the previous Saturday’s away win was seen only in flashes, and too often our rhythm dissolved under the weight of interruptions and niggling infringements.
Yet the Hammers actually began brightly and were unlucky not to take an early lead. Had we scored then, the afternoon might have unfolded very differently. But Harry Gregg produced several fine stops, and Charlie Williams acted as an effective stopper down the middle, repeatedly halting our progress.
Gregg’s one real error gave us the breakthrough: he could only palm out a drive, and Vic Keeble reacted quickest to head us in front. Within three minutes, though, Doncaster were level. The goal went to McMorran, but he owed everything to a bewildering mix‑up involving three of our defenders, who somehow contrived to help the ball trickle inside the post at little more than walking pace.
Gregg injured his fingers in the second half, causing a brief stoppage, but the greater delays came from Doncaster’s persistent time‑wasting at throw‑ins. While one can hardly blame them for exploiting the referee’s leniency, it remained entirely within the official’s power to warn them and add the appropriate time at the end. Instead, he appeared eager to bring proceedings to a close and blew for full‑time exactly on 45 minutes, without a single second of allowance.
ROTHERHAM UNITED
Millmoor
2 - 1 (Bond 55' [pen], Dick 70')
26 October 1957
Att: 8,971
Gregory
Bond
Cantwell
Malcolm
Brown
Lansdowne
Dare
Smith J.
Keeble
Dick
Musgrove
This was our second successive victory at Millmoor, and in repeating last season’s success on northern soil the Hammers showed outstanding fighting spirit. It was a hard contest, but although the first two goals came from penalties, the match was never unusually rough - “over‑keenness” is the kinder and more accurate description of the incidents that led to the spot‑kicks.
Rotherham struck first in the 37th minute, Johnson converting after Harmer had been pushed off the ball. We restored parity ten minutes into the second half when Keeble was tripped by goalkeeper Ironside as he broke through, and Bond calmly dispatched the penalty.
From there the exchanges remained even, but it was our sharper finishing that made the difference. A quarter of an hour later Johnny Dick veered out to the left and hammered in the winner - a decisive strike that capped a fine personal performance.
HUDDERSFIELD TOWN
Upton Park
5 - 2 (Keeble 18', Cantwell 50', Musgrove 52', 61', Dick 79')
2 November 1957
Att; 21,525
Gregory
Bond
Cantwell
Malcolm
Brown
Lansdowne
Dare
Smith J.
Keeble
Dick
Musgrove
The performance by our First Team was undoubtedly one of their best of the season, and in addition to our 5-2 victory the 21,525 spectators had the pleasure of witnessing one of the most interesting games seen at Upton Park this season. There was one slightly dull patch just before the interval after Huddersfield Town equalised to make it 1-1 at the breather, but following the resumption the sparkling soccer shown by the Hammers soon sot a stamp on their performance.
Opportunist Vic Keeble had put us in front in the 18th minute when he diverted Andy Malcolm's shot by flicking it into the corner of the net away from a surprised goalkeeper. A long free-kick at the end of half-an-hour's play was headed home by Connor to put the visitors on level terms again.
Only five minutes of the second-half had elapsed when a typical Bond-Cantwell move ended with our left-back neatly placing the ball across the line from his partner's free-kick. A couple of minutes afterwards Musgrove made it 3-1, only for right-back Conwell to fasten on to a McHale pass to score the third goal in the space of three minutes.
Despite this brief rally by the Yorkshiremen, the Hammers virtually settled the game at the end of an hour's play, Malcolm Musgrove making it 4-2 after Kennon had parried his first shot; but it took a splendid goal by John Dick ten minutes from time to finally settle the issue.
GRIMSBY TOWN
Blundell Park
2 - 1 (Smith 48', Dick 60')
9 November 1957
Att: 12,088
Gregory
Bond
Cantwell
Malcolm
Brown
Lansdowne
Dare
Smith J.
Keeble
Dick
Musgrove
Three successive away victories and a total of eleven points from the last six games indicates that our First Team has been playing some very successful soccer, and the match at Blundell Park proved us to be superior to Grimsby Town in a League game before an attendance of 12,088.
The final score was 2-1, but it was not completely representative of the exchanges, for the Hammers missed several opportunities of making their victory an easier one than by the odd goal. Indeed we found ourselves one down at half-time, the Town taking the lead in the 36th minute when Evans shot into a trio of defenders and the ball went "in off" Andy Malcolm.
Malcolm Musgrove had made a number of openings in the first half, but we failed to take advantage of these. It was therefore somewhat of an anti-climax when Johnny Smith put us on level terms three minutes after the resumption, for goalkeeper fin-.ley completely mistimed his effort to clear a speculative 25-yarder, and the ball went over his outstretched hands. Although fortunate, the equaliser deserved, and from thence onward our XI set out to assert themselves; the home side had a narrow escape when Billy Dare's "cross" rolled along the line, but at the end of an hour's play Musgrove again went away down the wing, and Johnny Dick was there to head home the decisive counter. The Town made a desperate late effort, but our do fence-always held the measure of the opposing attack.
STOKE CITY
Upton Park
5 - 0 (Keeble 13', 16', 75', Dare 25', Dick 68')
16 November 1957
Att: 23,171
Gregory
Bond
Cantwell
Malcolm
Brown
Lansdowne
Dare
Smith J.
Keeble
Dick
Musgrove
A whirlwind burst of scoring in the first 24 minutes put the Hammers three goals to the good, and despite all the Potters’ efforts we stayed comfortably in command for the remainder of the match.
Both sides struggled early on with a greasy surface, but Dick and Keeble adapted quickest, forcing their way through before the centre‑forward smashed in the opener in the 12th minute. Stoke had barely recovered when Hall’s fly‑kick cannoned back off Keeble’s outstretched boot and into an unguarded net. Moments later a slick Smith–Keeble–Dare exchange took the wind clean out of the visitors, Dare finishing from close range to make it 3–0.
The second half drifted into a spell of loose, untidy exchanges, and the score stayed unchanged until the 68th minute. Then, when Hall could only parry Lansdowne’s header from a corner, Smith calmly squared for Dick to tuck away the fourth. The fifth arrived with startling speed: Brown met Hall’s goal‑kick with a booming header, and Keeble pounced to complete his hat‑trick with a fierce drive from the edge of the box.
BRISTOL CITY
Ashton Gate
1 - 1 (Dick 87')
23 November 1957
Att: 22,305
Gregory
Bond
Cantwell
Malcolm
Brown
Lansdowne
Dare
Smith J.
Keeble
Dick
Musgrove
There was a healthy contingent of Hammers supporters among the 22,305 at Ashton Gate last Saturday, and they had every reason to be satisfied as our side earned a point and stretched their unbeaten League run to eight games, collecting 14 points in that spell.
Malcolm Musgrove, fully recovered from the knock he took against Stoke City, returned to complete an unchanged XI - and his performance left no doubt about his fitness. He was our most dangerous forward throughout, his shooting repeatedly unsettling the Bristol City defence.
Even so, the home side held us off until three minutes from time. Earlier they had taken the lead after 35 minutes, when Atyeo made ground down the left and struck a fierce shot that Ernie Gregory could only parry; Walker followed up smartly to drive the ball home from fifteen yards.
The match flowed end to end, with both goalkeepers producing excellent saves, and the Reds’ defence - particularly Anderson — standing between us and more than one goal in the closing stages. But the pressure finally told. With the clock running down, a full “all‑up” assault ended with Billy Dare slipping the ball across for John Dick, who swept home the late equaliser our play had long deserved.
CARDIFF CITY
Upton Park
1 - 1 (Dick 58')
30 Novembe 1957
Att: 23,954
Gregory
Bond
Cantwell
Malcolm
Brown
Lansdowne
Dare
Smith J.
Keeble
Dick
Musgrove
Twenty‑four thousand spectators watched Cardiff City leave Upton Park with a point - a result that disappointed both the Hammers’ supporters and the players themselves. Everyone had hoped for a victory to strengthen our position in the promotion race, but like several of our rivals we slipped up, and although we held on to fourth place, the gap to the leaders remained stubbornly unchanged.
Against fast‑moving, sharp‑tackling opposition we never quite found our stride. Even when Billy Dare swung over a fine centre in the 58th minute for John Dick to head home - maintaining his remarkable goal‑a‑game run over the last six matches - there was no sense of the contest being settled. Cardiff had threatened throughout, and their equaliser, when it came, felt almost inevitable. What made it harder to swallow was the timing: deep into the closing seconds Bonson swept in Walsh’s pass to level the scores.
The frustration was sharpened by the knowledge that we had come within inches of sealing the points moments earlier. Bill Lansdowne’s shot struck the upright, and had it gone in there would scarcely have been time for the Bluebirds to launch the attack that brought their equaliser.
With both centre‑forwards well held, neither side ever fully dominated, but the match still produced enough end‑to‑end exchanges to keep the crowd engaged to the final whistle.
LIVERPOOL
Anfield
1 - 1 (Dick 65')
7 December 1957
Att: 34,030
Gregory
Bond
Cantwell
Malcolm
Brown
Lansdowne
Dare
Smith J.
Keeble
Dick
Musgrove
The duel between two evenly matched sides was superbly handled by referee Coultas of Hull, and although neither team asked nor gave quarter, the full ninety minutes were played in a clean, sporting spirit.
Both goals came in the second half. Ours arrived in the 65th minute, John Dick heading home after Billy Dare’s corner had been nodded on by Vic Keeble. Liverpool’s reply came eight minutes from time, the result of a determined foray by Billy Liddell, who drove in a low shot from fifteen yards.
Either side might have added more. Both before and after the goals, each end came under fierce pressure, and both defences were stretched to their limits. Our own rearguard, however, was nothing short of magnificent. Against a virile home attack averaging three goals a game at Anfield, they maintained a standard of the highest order. Ernie Gregory earned tremendous applause for a string of superb saves, while Ken Brown’s marking of Liddell was immaculate — beaten only once, for the equaliser.
Dick’s goal carried extra significance: it was the first Liverpool had conceded at Anfield since the opening day of the season, ending a run of 846 minutes without breach. Eight wins and two draws stood to the northerners’ credit on their own ground, and in the circumstances the point we earned felt worth double.
MIDDLESBROUGH
Upton Park
2 - 1 (Musgrove 74', Bond 76' [pen])
14 December 1957
Att: 20,737
Gregory
Bond
Cantwell
Malcolm
Brown
Lansdowne
Dare
Newman
Keeble
Dick
Musgrove
Our First Team extended their unbeaten League run to eleven games, but it took two goals inside a single minute to overturn the lead Middlesbrough had snatched earlier in the second half.
The task need never have been so difficult. Early on we carved out chance after chance with excellent approach play, only to waste them repeatedly. It became exasperating to watch opportunities slip by, and the 21,000 present were left wondering what had happened to our finishing touch. Middlesbrough must have wondered too, for the woodwork rescued them more than once, and on another occasion Vic Keeble inadvertently blocked a full‑blooded drive from a team‑mate simply because he couldn’t get out of the way in time.
Then came the shock. In the 63rd minute, Noel Cantwell diverted Holliday’s centre into his own net - a goal completely against the run of play. Worse followed moments later when Brian Clough burst through the middle and looked certain to score, but Ernie Gregory advanced bravely to block the shot and keep us alive.
That intervention proved vital. With a quarter of an hour remaining, Malcolm Musgrove unleashed a 25‑yard scorcher to level the scores, and barely two minutes later Buddif handled on the goal‑line to give John Bond the chance to put us ahead from the penalty spot. He made no mistake.
The closing stages were packed with incident, both sides attacking fiercely despite a surface far from suited to good football. By the final whistle there was not a soul in the ground who could claim not to have been thrilled. Both teams contributed to a fine contest, but it was the Hammers who showed the resilience and fire needed to stretch their unbeaten run into double figures.
LINCOLN CITY
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An unhappy Lincoln City were largely helpless against a Hammers XI that dominated almost the entire ninety minutes. The home side produced a couple of promising efforts early on, but Ernie Gregory foiled both - and added to their discomfort by saving a penalty on the stroke of half‑time. By then, though, the damage was already considerable: the Hammers were 3–0 up, and a sparse crowd of 8,375 saw the lead swell to 6–1 by the finish.
A string of defensive errors gifted Vic Keeble the opener after just three minutes, and half an hour later our centre‑forward slipped a pass down the middle for Malcolm Musgrove to make it 2–0. Johnny Dick returned to his scoring run with the third in the 43rd minute, sending us in at the interval with a commanding advantage.
Five minutes after the restart Billy Dare crossed for Keeble to notch his second, but Lincoln finally found the net when Grainger intercepted a pass and drove home - a goal he deserved for his tireless efforts, which were rarely matched by the rest of the East Anglian side. The flood, however, could not be stemmed. With a quarter of an hour remaining Dick struck again, and four minutes from time Mick Newman claimed his first League goal to underline our superiority. A comprehensive win, a ruthless performance, and another emphatic marker in an increasingly convincing promotion challenge.
IPSWICH TOWN
Upton Park
1 - 1 (Newman 87')
25 December 1957
Att: 25,515
Gregory
Bond
Cooper
Malcolm
BrownSmith J.
Dare
Newman
Keeble
Dick
Musgrove
An attendance of 25,515 saw the visiting XI take away a point after a match full of excitement. Ipswich Town played some excellent football, their approach work clearly bearing the imprint of Alf Ramsey’s guidance and the Spurs‑style patterns he has instilled.
The visitors struck first in the eleventh minute, Bill Rees cleverly diverting a through‑pass from the edge of the box to put the Blues ahead. Urged on by the Upton Park roar, the Hammers pressed relentlessly for an equaliser, but were repeatedly frustrated by a defence that, at times, seemed to consist of every Ipswich player bar centre‑forward Garneys.
At last, with only three minutes remaining, the breakthrough came. Mick Newman, timing his run perfectly, met a cross with a flying header to level the scores — and the final moments were anxious ones for everyone inside the ground.
Even so, we cannot begrudge the visitors their point. They played with an infectious enthusiasm that has done much to lift their position in the table, and their spirited display made the draw a fair reflection of the afternoon’s exchanges.
IPSWICH TOWN
Portman Road
1 - 2 (Bond 41')
26 December 1957
Att: 21,899
Gregory
Bond
Wright
Malcolm
Brown
Smith J.
Grice
Lewis
Keeble
Dick
Musgrove
21,899 spectators at Portman Road witnessed another genuine thriller, one in which we made three changes to the side: George Wright, Mike Grice and Eddie Lewis came in for Fred Cooper, Billy Dare and Mick Newman respectively, giving us the line‑up:
Gregory; Bond, Wright; Malcolm, Brown, Smith; Grice, Lewis, Keeble, Dick, Musgrove.
Ipswich, for their part, replaced Acres with Carberry at right‑back.
Eighteen minutes had passed when Siddall centred and the ball glanced off one of our defenders to give the home side the lead. Eleven minutes later the same player struck again, heading home a corner from his fellow winger Leadbetter — and suddenly we were two down. Four minutes before the interval, however, John Bond let fly from thirty‑five yards, and a deflection off a defender reduced the arrears.
The second half was nothing short of one‑way traffic. For the entire forty‑five minutes we applied relentless pressure, reflected in the astonishing total of fifteen corner‑kicks awarded in our favour. We even appeared to have equalised when John Dick found the net, only for the linesman to raise his flag for offside — despite the referee seeming content to award the goal.
Even when Siddall was carried off with a groin injury six minutes from time, Ipswich maintained a stubborn, heroic defence. They did not pretend otherwise afterwards: they knew they were fortunate to take full spoils.
BRISTOL ROVERS
Upton Park
6 - 1 (Keeble 28', 53', Smith 12', 38', 42', Dick 62')
28 December 1957
Att: 28,095
Gregory
Bond
Wright
Malcolm
Brown
Pyke
Grice
Smith J.
Keeble
Dick
Musgrove
Our
BLACKPOOL : FA Cup (Third Round)
Upton Park
5 - 1 (Keeble 20', 73', 83', Dick 27', 64')
4 January 1958
Att: 34,000
Gregory
Bond
Wright
Malcolm
Brown
Pyke
Grice
Lewis
Keeble
Dick
Musgrove
Our
DERBY COUNTY
Baseball Ground
3 - 2 (Dick 9', Bond 20' [pen], Musgrove 70')
11 January 1958
Att: 21,564
Gregory
Bond
Wright
Malcolm
Brown
Pyke
Grice
Smith J.
Keeble
Dick
Musgrove
Our
READING : Southern Floodlight Cup (Second Round)
Upton Park
3 - 3 (Smith 36', Keeble 45', Dick 50')
13 January 1958
Att: 5,000
Gregory
Wright
Cantwell
Malcolm
Brown
Pyke
Grice
Smith J.
Keeble
Dick
Musgrove
Our
SWANSEA TOWN
Upton Park
6 - 2 (Bond 42' [pen], Dick 60', Keeble 68', 69',Cantwell 74', Lansdowne 79')
18 January 1958
Att: 27,277
Gregory
Bond
Cantwell
Malcolm
Brown
Lansdowne
Grice
Smith J.
Keeble
Dick
Musgrove
Our
STOCKPORT COUNTY : FA Cup (Fourth Round)
Upton Park
3 - 2 (Lewis 51', 72', Keeble 53')
25 January 1958
Att: 36.000
Gregory
Bond
Cantwell
Malcolm
Brown
Lansdowne
Grice
Lewis
Keeble
Dick
Musgrove
Our
READING : Southern Floodlight Cup (Second Round Replay)
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FULHAM
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BARNSLEY
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FULHAM : FA Cup (Fifth Round)
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LEYTON ORIENT
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BRISTOL CITY
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DONCASTER ROVERS
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ROTHERHAM UNITED
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SOUTHEND UNITED : Essex Pro Cup (Semi-Final)
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HUDDERSFIELD TOWN
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GRIMSBY TOWN
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STOKE CITY
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NOTTS COUNTY
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CHARLTON ATHLETIC
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NOTTS COUNTY
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CARDIFF CITY
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LIVERPOOL
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MIDDLESBROUGH
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CHELMSFORD CITY : Essex Pro Cup (Final)
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