The early fixtures paired West Ham with two games against the League Champions Tottenham Hotspur. At White Hart Lane the teams drew 2–2 and in an exciting game at the Boleyn Ground the Hammers won 2–1. The dismal away form of the last campaign was forgotten with good wins at Aston Villa (4–2) and Sheffield United (4–1). After 12 games the left-wing pairing of Dick and Musgrove had scored 15 goals between them.

Plymouth Argyle were narrowly beaten 3–2 in the League Cup at home but the Hammers bowed out in the next round after losing 3–1 at home to Aston Villa. Losing 3–1 at half-time away to Manchester City, West Ham staged a remarkable comeback to win 5–3. Bobby Moore was sent off in the closing seconds of this match for the first and only time in his West Ham career. The away form continued to improve as following a decent 2–2 draw at Arsenal there was a 2–1 win at Manchester United, where Johnny Dick scored twice. At home against Wolverhampton Wanderers Musgrove scored after 14 seconds and Bobby Moore added two more in the 4–2 victory.

The FA Cup brought a shock as the Hammers crashed out, losing 3–0 away to Plymouth Argyle. February brought a 1–0 win at Chelsea followed by a 2–2 draw at home to champions-elect Ipswich Town. A disastrous March saw West Ham crash 6–0 at Burnley and 4–0 at home to Manchester City, where new signing Johnny Byrne made his home debut. During the Easter period the spotlight was on the goalkeepers. Against Arsenal goalkeeper Lawrie Leslie was injured and was replaced by defender John Lyall in the 3–3 home draw, while at Cardiff City keeper Brian Rhodes had to retire injured and in his place came midfielder Martin Peters, who played well despite the 3–0 defeat. The season ended with a 4–2 home win over Fulham, which gave West Ham a respectable eighth place in the league table.