WEST HAM UNITED
theyflysohigh : Steve Marsh
FOOTBALL PROGRAMMES &
Memorabilia through the Decade
A Pictorial History
Ted Fenton
#431
ROBERT GORDON JOHNSTONE
Born: 19 November 1934, Edinburgh, Scotland
Signed: Ormiston Primrose
Date: 13 April 1953
Debut: 31 August 1955 Southend United (A)
Last: 9 March 1957 Grimsby Town (A)
Appearances: 3
Goals: 0
Individual honours: Essex Professional Cup (1955)
Transferred: Ipswich Town
Date: July 1957
Fee: £1,000
A fine wing-half in the best Scottish tradition, ‘Gordon’ played his early soccer with Edinburgh Schoolboys and East of Scotland Select while with junior side Ormiston Primrose. Came to the Boleyn for a trial, and impressed sufficiently to sign professional forms on 13 April 1953 and as a gesture the Hammers paid Ormiston a £100 donation. However, National Service commitments would interrupted his soccer progression.
Johnstone made his initial appearance for West Ham’s first XI in the Final of the Essex Professional Cup against Southend United on the 31 August 1955, the game having been postponed from the previous April to allow the game to take place on the Shrimpers new Roots Hall ground. The final ended all-square at 2-2 after 90 minutes. With each side scoring in the first period of extra time the match was subsequently abandoned at the interval as it was too dark to continue. With the score at 3-3, both clubs decided to share the cup for 6 months.
Johnstone’s Football League debut came against Doncaster Rovers at Belle Vue in a 0-3 reverse on the 3 November 1956. He made only one further Second Division showing before being transferred to Ipswich Town in July 1957 for a fee of £1,000. Served the Suffolk club well until 1959, when he gave up the game to embark on a professional singing career in Canada.
#432
TOMMY LAWRENCE
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#433 =
MIKE GRICE
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ROY SMITH
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#435
BILL LANSDOWNE Snr.
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JOHN SMITH
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ROBINSON WYLLIE
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EDDIE LEWIS
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#439
JOHN MORLEY
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#440
GEORGE FENN
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#441
MICK NEWMAN
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#442
HARRY OBENEY
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MALCOLM PYKE
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BRIAN RHODES
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#445
BILLY NEVILLE
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#446
VIC KEEBLE
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JOE KIRKUP
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ANDY SMILLIE
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#449
TERRY HAYWOOD
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#450
BOBBY MOORE
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#451
JOHN CARTWRIGHT
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#452
PHIL WOOSNAM
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#453
GEOFF HURST
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#454
NOEL CANTWELL
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#455
JOHN LYALL
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#456
DAVID HILLS
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#457
RON BRETT
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#459 =
HARRY CRIPPS
Born: 29 April 1941, Dereham, Norfolk
Signed: Juniors, September 1958
Debut: Millwall, 13 October 1959
Appearances: 1
Goals: 0
International: England Youth (5 caps)
Transferred: Millwall
Date: June 1961
Died: 29 December 1995, Wanstead, Essex (aged 54)
At schoolboy lever Harry Cripps played for West Ham Boys and Essex, player, Cripps joined the ground staff at West Ham in January 1956. Made his first appearance in the Claret and Blue shirt in the first practice match at Upton Park, playing for the Blues (Reserves) against the Colours (First XI) on 9 August 1956. His first competitive match came in the season’s opening Metropolitan League fixture on 18 August against Haywards Heath at Hanbury Park in a 2-1 win.
Cripps turned professional for the Hammers in 1958 and was a member of the FA Youth Cup Final team of 1958/59 alongside Bobby Moore, Eddie Bovington and Jack Burkett. His First Team debut came on 13 October 1959 against Millwall at Upton Park playing alongside other debutant Ron Boyce in the 3-1 Southern Floodlit Cup victory. Cripps never made any first team appearances in the Football League, and allowed to transfer south of the river to bitter rivals Millwall in the summer of 1961.
There he made his first team debut on 19 August 1961. He rapidly became a fan favourite due to his bustling, combative performances at full back. Made 400 appearances and scored 37 goals before transferring to Charlton Athletic in 1974.
He later became a coach at Crystal Palace, as well as assistant manager at Charlton and manager of Barking between August 1980 and January 1982. In February 1990, Cripps was appointed manager of Purfleet.
#458
DEREK WOODLEY
Born: 2 March 1942, Hounslow, Middlesex
Signed: Professional 16 April 1959
First game: 21 September 1959 Leyton Orient (H)
Last game: 6 April 1962 Birmingham City (H)
Appearances: 15
Goals: 3
International: England Youth (6 caps)
Individual honours: Southern Junior Floodlight Cup (1958), Essex Professional Cup (1959)
Transferred: Southend United
Died: 29 January 2002, Shoeburyness (aged 59)
Derek Woodley was a member of the Heston Boys team and gained Middlesex, London and England Schoolboy honours and scored against Wales in 1957 after 13 seconds to net what was the fastest goal scored in any competitive fixture at the old Wembley Stadium.
Joined the Hammers at the start of the 1957-58 season, records indicate he made his first claret and blue appearance playing for the Colts in the annual ‘Ted Fenton Trophy’ match against Bexleyheath & Welling at their Park View Road ground, scoring twice in the 6-3 victory on 24 August 1957. Two of his teammates that afternoon were future first team players Eddie Bovington and Tony Scott.
While on the ground-staff at the Boleyn Ground he added six England Youth caps and an FA Youth Cup runners-up medal to his earlier triumphs and looked set for a big future. Signed his first professional contract on 16 April 1959.
The fast flankman made his first team debut in unusual circumstances, West Ham United had battled to the final of the 1959 Essex Professional Cup against Leyton Orient, but due to backlog of fixtures the final was put off until the following season. Woodley lined up against the O’s on 21 September 1959 in a final that was won by 4 goals to one to collect a winners medal.
Three-weeks later he scored two goals on his Football League debut against Luton Town in a 3-1 victory at Upton Park, 10 October 1959. Despite his promising start he found first team opportunities limited and it was something of a surprise when he eventually left east London after 15 games.
Former West Ham manager Ted Fenton swooped on the eve of the 1962-63 season to take Woodley and his colleague Mick Beesley to Third Division Southend United in a combined £6,500 transfer. After serving the Shrimpers well, he joined Charlton Athletic in 1967, only to return to Roots Hall four months later, over two spells he played in 182 games scoring 23 goals.
In 1968 he was transferred to Gillingham where he made exactly 100 league appearances before he ended his career at non-league Folkestone Town in 1971.
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RON BOYCE
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#461
TONY SCOTT
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#462
DAVE DUNMORE
Born: 18 February 1934, Whitehaven, Cumberland
Signed: Tottenham Hotspur, 15 March 1960
Fee: Exchange deal / John Smith
First game: 15 March 1960 Blackburn Rovers (H)
Last game: 4 March 1961 West Bromwich Albion (H)
Appearances: 41, Goals: 18
Transferred: Leyton Orient
Date: 16 March 1961
Fee: Exchange deal / Alan Sealey
Died: 11 July 2021 (aged 87)
Born in the town of Whitehaven in Cumberland – now Cumbria – in the far Northh West of England, he moved to York and began his football career with local junior club Cliftonville before joining Third Division side York City at the age of 17 in 1951.
A haul of 25 goals in 48 league appearances for the Minstermen saw top-flight Tottenham Hotspur pay £10,750 for his services in February 1954 and would spend the next six years at White Hart Lane. After scoring 23 goals in 75 league appearances the experienced centre-forward arrived at Upton Park on 15 March 1960 in an exchange deal which took Johnny Smith to north London.
Dunmore kicked-off his Hammers career in a 2-1 home win over Blackburn Rovers at Upton Park on the 19 March 1960, before netting his first in a 5-3 First Division defeat at Manchester United the following month. He acquitted himself well during his two years in the claret-and-blue, scoring some useful goals and "beefing-up" the forward line at a time when Hammers were struggling to consolidate their First Division status.
The burly striker found himself involved in another exchange, this time with near-neighbours Leyton Orient on 16 March 1960, which resulted in Alan Sealey joining the Hammers. After netting more than 50 league goals for the O’s across four full seasons before returning to York City to end his days as a professional player at the age of 35 in 1967.
After spells with non-league clubs Worcester City, Wellington Town, Bridlington Trinity and Scarborough, and in Ireland with Sligo Rovers, he hung up his boots and returned to York, where he worked as a panel beater before retiring.
#463
EDDIE BOVINGTON
Born: 23 April 1941, Edmonton, London
Signed: Professional May 1959
First game: 18 April 1960
Manchester United (A)
Last game: 16 December 1967
Sheffield Wednesday (A)
Appearances: 184, Goals 2
Individual honours: FA Cup Winner (1964),
Charity Shield (1965),
Football League Cup Runners-up (1966)
Transferred: Retired
Bovington joined the Hammers ground-staff at the start of the 1957-58 season, records indicate he made his first claret and blue appearance playing for the Colts in the annual ‘Ted Fenton Trophy’ match against Bexleyheath & Welling at their Park View Road ground in the 6-3 victory on 24 August 1957. Two of his team mates that afternoon were future first team players Tony Scott and Derek Woodley.
Eddies first competitive match was against Portsmouth Colts in a 2-1 South East Counties League victory at the Royal Marines Ground on 7 September 1957. ‘Bov’ progressed through the ranks to make his ‘A’ team debut in the London Mid-Week and Metropolitan League fixtures. On 7 April 1958 and stepped up to make his Reserves Football Combination debut at home to Luton Town in a 3-0 win at Upton Park. Playing alongside Bobby Moore, Eddie was a member of the FA Youth Cup side that lost out 2-1 to Blackburn Rovers in the 1959 two-legged Final. The disappointment was soon forgotten as he signed his first professional contact in May 1959.
Eddie Bovington was part of the golden era of the mid-1960s when West Ham United first tasted true success at home and abroad. One of Bobby Moore's generation of homegrown talents, the starry-eyed teenager made his Hammers debut in the First Division against Manchester United at Old Trafford on 18 April 1960 in a 5-3 defeat. While Bovington performed well, he did not establish himself for another three years, playing a few games here and there before the dependable wing-half made the position his own when manager Ron Greenwood reinstated to the side after the Boxing Day 1963 debacle when the Hammers lost 8-2 at home to Blackburn Rovers.
‘Bov’ brought much needed stability to the side and his performance against Manchester United in the 1964 FA Cup Semi-final clash at Hillsborough, when he man-marked Bobby Charlton, was one of the highlights of his career. The wing-half made a total of 138 League appearances for West Ham, scoring a single league goal at Upton park against Nottingham Forest on 26 October 1966. He made another 46 senior appearances for the Hammers in other competitions, including the 1964 FA Cup Final and eight European Cup Winners Cup matches. His only cup goal was against Cardiff City, in a 5-2 home win on 20 December 1965 in the League Cup semi-final.
Bovington's playing days ended at a relatively early age - 28 - retiring from the game at the end of the 1968-69 campaign, resisting the temptation of playing in the lower leagues to go into the rag trade.
#464
PETER SHEARING
Born: 26 August 1938, Uxbridge, Middlesex
Signed: Hendon FC 27 May 1960
Fee: £250 Donation
First game: 3 September 1960
Sheffield Wednesday (A)
Last game: 24 September 1960
Everton (A)
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Transferred: Portsmouth
Date: 1 July 1961
An experienced senior amateur goalkeeper with Uxbridge, Hayes, Kingstonian and Hendon, playing for the latter in the 1960 Amateur Cup Final at Wembley. Shearing signed from the Athenian League side on 27 May 1960, the Hammers’ making a £250 donation to The Greens to secure his services.
The tall goalkeeper made his initial League appearance against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough in a 0-1 defeat on the 3 September 1960. He went on to make half-a-dozen First Division outings deputising for Brian Rhodes before returning to reserve team duty.
Began a grand tour of the West Country clubs when leaving the Boleyn Ground, stopping off at Portsmouth on 1 July 1961, later taking in Exeter City, Plymouth Argyle, Exeter again, Bristol Rovers and finally Gillingham. He assisted Fellow ex-Hammer Andy Nelson at Charlton Athletic when the latter was manager at The Valley, and also became a fully-qualified referee. Shearing was forced to retire following injury, but recovered to continue his career with Gillingham. He ran a Post Office at Maidstone in Kent for nearly 30 years after leaving The Valley.
#465
MICK BEESLEY
Born: 10 June 1942, High Beech, Essex
Signed: Professional 2 October 1959
First game: 24 September 1960
Everton (A)
Last game: 20 March 1961
Blackburn Rovers (A)
Appearances: 2
Goals: 1
Transferred: Southend United:
Date: 23 August 1962
Fee: £6,500
Beesley played schools soccer for West Ham, London and Essex Boys before begining his career with the youth team at West Ham United and played in the 1958–59 FA Youth Cup. He signed professional under Ted Fenton on 2 October 1959 and gained London and FA Youth honours. Despite scoring on his League debut against Everton at Goodison Park in a 1-4 defeat on the 24 September 1960, and heavily for the reserves in which he recorded 35 goals in 55 appearances for the second-string.
The inside-forward failed to win a regular place in the League side, his only other First Division appearance was in the Hammers 4-1 defeat at Blackburn Rovers in March 1961. Beesley transferred to Southend United in August 1962 where he joined up with former Hammers' manager Ted Fenton. Beesley departure to the south coast was part of a combined deal which also included Derek Woodley going to the Shrimpers and the Hammers also receiving £6,500. At Southend Beesley notched up 79 appearances and 34 goals before moving on to Peterborough United in July 1965. That move came about after Southend failed to register him with the Football League. He made the London Road records as their first substitute in a 4-2 win at Oldham Athletic.
He rejoined Southend in August 1967 and netted 45 goals in 212 League games overall for the Blues prior to joining Dover in July 1971.
Ted Fenton
Minutes of Board meeting 14 March 1961
The Chairman's action in giving the following statement to the Press Association was confirmed:-
"For some time, Mr. Fenton has been working under quite a strain and it was agreed that he should go on sick leave. For the time being, we shall carry on by making certain adjustments in our internal administration."
Following Mr. Fenton’s absence, team selection for the next seven games was “a board decision taken upon the advice of the coaches")
#466
ALAN SEALEY
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