The Hammers were one of the fancied teams for promotion and by the end of September, after 1–1 draws at Newcastle and Sheffield Wednesday, they found themselves unbeaten and in fourth place. Stoke City were beaten 5–1 on aggregate in the League Cup while in the league Hull City were thrashed 7–1 at home. In a stubborn defence, Colin Foster and Alvin Martin were proving to be a formidable partnership, and behind them goalkeeper Ludek Miklosko was in fine form. A late goal at Oxford United saw the Hammers beaten 1–0 in the League Cup.

Bad news came when skipper Julian Dicks was injured and ruled out for the season. By mid-December West Ham were league leaders and there were new signings with full-backs Tim Breacker and Chris Hughton signing. A run of 21 undefeated league games came to an end following the 1–0 loss at Barnsley.

The FA Cup saw Fourth Division Aldershot force a replay, in which two goals from Trevor Morley helped the Hammers to a 6–1 victory. Morley scored two more in the next round as Luton Town were beaten 5–0 at the Boleyn Ground. During February rivals Millwall were beaten 3–1 in the league while in the FA Cup Crewe Alexandra were narrowly beaten 1–0 at home. March brought four league games without a win but there were joyous scenes at Upton Park as the Hammers marched into the FA Cup semi-final after beating Everton 2–1.The semi-final at Villa Park brought disappointment as 10-man Hammers were beaten 4–0 by Nottingham Forest after Tony Gale had been dismissed early in the game. The final home game proved to be an anti-climax as West Ham lost 2–1 at home to Notts County, but at the final whistle news broke that Oldham had drawn, which meant West Ham were champions. As thousands celebrated on the pitch it was learned that Oldham had in fact scored from an injury-time penalty; the news was greeted with stunned silence. Still, it was no small consolation that by finishing second in the league the Hammers were promoted to the top flight.