Syd King joined Thames Ironworks in the summer of 1899. The full-back made his debut in the claret-and-blue against Swindon Town (away) on the 6 October 1900 in a 1-0 victory. Syd was a flamboyant character and  formed a well-known full-back partnership with Charlie Craig.

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A flamboyant and articulate character, King was destined to stay with Hammers for many years, and was appointed secretary in 1902. He realised the power of the press and maintained good relations with the journalists who covered the Hammers, being fully aware of the benefits that could result from favourable newspaper coverage.

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Under his guiding hand, numerous famous players from the north and Scotland were drafted into the Hammers' claret and light blue from their units stationed at Woolwich and Colchester. With 'imported' players interspersed with local talent such as Syd Puddefoot, the Hammers became one of London's leading teams, winning the London Combination championship in 1916/17 when Danny Shea scored 32 goals and Puddefoot 24.

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The final season of the competition began in September 1918 with the conclusion of hostilities coming nine weeks later, much to the delight of the whole country who flooded back to sporting venues.

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When West Ham applied to join the Football League in 1919, they found support from the sporting papers readily forthcoming. King thus guided West Ham United from the Southern League and into the First Division of the Football League, as well as to the club's first ever F.A. Cup Final.

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In those golden Upton Park days of 1922-23, he realised many of his ambitions in the game, and having steered the Hammers into Division One, he kept them there for several seasons, and saw several of his team win full international honours. But that team eventually grew old as King failed to acknowledge that although ability may linger, it's effectiveness becomes diminished with the passing years.

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In the side beaten at Chelsea in the last First Division fixture of 1931-32, there were still three members of the side that had steered Hammers to Wembley in 1923. As performances deteriorated, so did Syd King's health. The board of directors, who had once thought so much of Syd that they paid him a bonus of £300 after he had managed to get a good price from Falkirk for the transfer of Hammers' most saleable asset, Syd Puddefoot, now regarded the manager as a drunken insubordinate, and responsible for the club's unhealthy position.

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In 1931, the directors gave him some shares in the club, but the following year, at the board meeting on 7 November 1932, it was recorded that: "It was unanimously decided that until further notice, C. Paynter be given sole control of the players and that E.S. King be notified accordingly." Behind that terse sentence lay a sad, pathetic story. King, who was well-known for his fondness for ale, had arrived at the board meeting drunk. He had made insulting remarks to at least one director, and so his career in football - and, as it would happen, his own life - was almost to an end.

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The following night, West Ham United held an emergency board meeting at which it was decided to suspend King for three months without pay and to ban him from the Boleyn Ground. Thereafter, if the directors could be satisfied that his behaviour had improved, he might be reinstated as Secretary only and his salary reduced to £8 per week, accordingly. Certainly, his days in charge of the club's playing staff were over.

 

At another meeting, on the 3 January 1933, the directors decided that King should not, after all, be employed in any capacity. The Secretary, now Alan Searles, was instructed to write to King and inform him, and the directors also agreed that, in recognition of King's previous service to the club, they would pay him an ex-gratia payment of £3 per week 'for as long as the company sees fit'. King saved them their money. Less than one month after dismissal, he committed suicide by lacing an alcoholic drink with some kind of corrosive substance.