WEST HAM UNITED
theyflysohigh : Steve Marsh
FOOTBALL PROGRAMMES &
Collectables through the Decades
A Pictorial History
1960 - 1970
Augsburg IX Internationales
June 1963
The B.C. Augsburg Football Club of Germany first invited the Hammers to compete in their annual Youth Tournament in June 1963. The West Ham United 'Colts' topped their 'Group 2' table by defeating West German sides Bayern Munich 3-0, Schwaben Augsburg 2-0 and Boldklubben Copenhagen from Denmark 1-0. In the final they meet Group 'A' winners AS Cannes from France, the youngsters triumphed 2-1 after extra time.
Augsburg Winners Medal
Pre-Season Friendlies
FK Austria (Austria), Grazer AK (Austria), FC Nurnburg (West Germany)
7 - 12 August 1964
As a prelude to the ground‑breaking 1964/65 campaign, a party of sixteen West Ham United players - accompanied by manager Ron Greenwood, coach Albert Walker and sponge man Bill Jenkins - departed London Airport on 5 August for a nine‑day tour of Austria and West Germany. Greenwood wanted his team to feel European football in their bones before the Cup Winners’ Cup began. The Hammers had already endured gruelling end‑of‑season tours to Africa and twice to the United States, but this journey had a different purpose. It was reconnaissance: a deliberate, hands‑on survey of continental styles, atmospheres and tactical rhythms ahead of their first European adventure.
The itinerary took them straight into the heart of Central European football. Three matches were arranged - FK Austria, Grazer AK and FC Nürnberg, the latter having represented West Germany in the Cup Winners’ Cup the previous season. Before 13,000 spectators in Vienna, West Ham opened the tour with a crisp, confident 3–0 victory, the goals shared between John Sissons, Bobby Moore and Johnny Byrne. Graz proved a more stubborn opponent, holding the Hammers at bay until the 73rd minute. Then Byrne produced one of those moments that defined his continental flair: a 40‑yard surge, three defenders left trailing, and a cool finish to settle the match.
Nürnberg, as expected, provided the sternest examination. In front of 30,000 supporters, the Germans edged a tight, tactical contest 1–0 - a reminder of the calibre of opposition waiting in the months ahead and a valuable taste of the intensity West Ham would soon face for real. It was exactly the kind of education Greenwood wanted: football played at a different tempo, in unfamiliar stadiums, under the scrutiny of partisan crowds who expected their teams to win.
The tour did more than sharpen fitness and technique. It gave the players their first real sense of Europe - its footballing cultures, its hospitality, its quirks - and set the tone for the remarkable Cup Winners’ Cup journey that was about to unfold.
The tour also introduced the players to the charming, sometimes eccentric world of continental hospitality. Pennant exchanges were standard, but in Graz the Hammers received something altogether more memorable: a wooden model of the city’s famous Clock Tower (Graz Uhrturm), perched atop its dolomite outcrop and watching over the old town.
The tower’s medieval clock faces - with long hour hands and short minute hands - baffled visitors for centuries. Standing 28 metres high, with five‑metre‑wide dials and three historic bells (one dating from 1385), it was a fittingly quirky souvenir for a club embarking on its first European odyssey.
Pre-Season
FA Charity Shield
Liverpool v. West Ham United
Anfield
15 August 1964
FA Cup holders West Ham United travelled to Anfield to face League champions Liverpool in the annual Charity Shield, and the 38,858 packed inside witnessed a spectacle worthy of the occasion. From the outset the Hammers were anything but overawed. Johnny Byrne and Geoff Hurst both went close in the early exchanges, forcing Liverpool onto the back foot before the champions struck first. On 28 minutes Wallace seized on a half‑chance and put the Reds ahead.
West Ham’s response was measured, composed and beautifully executed. A minute before the interval Eddie Bovington floated a delectable chip into the box, the kind of pass that invited imagination. Byrne obliged, steering the ball past Lawrence with the assurance of a man who had already decided the outcome before he struck it.
Four minutes into the second half came a moment of Anfield thunder. Liverpool full‑back Gerry Byrne strode forward and unleashed a 30‑yard drive that arrowed into the top corner - a goal fit for any final, let alone a season curtain‑raiser. The champions piled on the pressure, roared on by a crowd sensing momentum, but West Ham refused to yield. Their resilience was rewarded six minutes from time when Hurst, alert and ruthless, pounced to grab the equaliser, and fittingly, the Shield was shared.
Charity Shield
The Central Council of Physical Recreation
Crystal Palace National Recreation Centre
West Ham United were invited to play Crystal Palace F.C. to celebrate the opening of this new venture, the fixture was organised by the Central Council of Physical Recreation for the benefit of the National Sports Development Fund. The Hammers was presented with a Sheaffer pen gift set. West Ham lost the inaugural game 4-1.
Inaugural Football Match
Crystal Palace v.West Ham United
19 August 1964
Standen, Bond, Burkett, Bovington, Brown, Moore, Brabrook (Sealey), Boyce, Byrne, Hurst, Sissons
Crystal Palace National Recreation Centre
Augsburg XI Internationales
June 1965
The B.C. Augsburg Football Club of Germany first invited the Hammers to compete in their annual Youth Tournament in June 1963. The West Ham United 'Colts' topped their 'Group 2' table by defeating West German sides Bayern Munich 3-0, Schwaben Augsburg 2-0 and Boldklubben Copenhagen from Denmark 1-0. In the final they meet Group 'A' winners AS Cannes from France, the youngsters triumphed 2-1 after extra time. The Colts side successfully defended the trophy in 1964 against Italian side FC Bologna.
Our third visit during the 1965 Whitsun period provided us with an unique opportunity, for it was a rule of the competition that three successive championships made the winners the permanent holders. Our 1964-65 record did not make us favourites this time, but our youngsters rose to the occasion.
In the group games we defeated Borussia Dortmund (West Germany) by 2-0 a goalless draw with B.C. Augsburg and then beat San Remo (Italy) by 2-0.
For the second successive season our opponents in the final were Italian club - FC Bologna.
Barry Simmons netted for us early in the first half, and our solid defence maintained its record of not conceding a goal in the competition so that we emerged as 1-0 victors to bring the trophy back to the Boleyn Ground.
Augsburg XI Internationales
European Cup Winners' Cup Final
TSV Munchen 1860
Twelve months after Ronnie Boyce’s last‑minute header won the 1964 FA Cup, West Ham United returned to Wembley for the 1965 European Cup Winners’ Cup final against TSV 1860 Munich. Ron Greenwood had boldly predicted his side would reach the showpiece again, and they did so by defeating La Gantoise, Sparta Prague, Lausanne Sports and Real Zaragoza. Munich’s route came via Union Luxembourg, FC Porto, Legia Warsaw and Torino.
A capacity 100,000 crowd saw a final hailed as a “magnificent game” and a “triumph for football”, with both teams committed to bold, imaginative attacking play. Hungarian referee Istvan Zsolt oversaw a contest played in the best spirit, as chances flowed at both ends. John Sissons missed an open goal and struck the post, while Geoff Hurst was twice denied by Petar Radenkovic. Jim Standen responded in kind, saving acrobatically from Peter Grosser and Hans Küppers. The first half ended goalless.
West Ham’s superiority told after the break. On 70 minutes Boyce stole possession, surged forward and threaded a perfect pass for Alan Sealey, who lashed the ball into the top corner. Two minutes later a Bobby Moore free‑kick was touched on by Martin Peters and Sealey struck again from close range to seal a 2–0 victory.
Moore climbed the 39 steps to collect the Cup Winners’ Cup, completing a remarkable two‑year rise for the Hammers. The match is still remembered as one of the finest ever played at Wembley.
TSV Munich 1860
BBC Sports Team of the Year Award
The BBC Sports Team of the Year Award is an award given annually as part of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony each December. The Team of the Year Award was first presented in 1960, six years after the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award was introduced.
West Ham United picked up the "Team Award" in recognition of the clubs success against TSV Munich 1860 in the European Cup Winners Cup final at Wembley Stadium seven months earlier.
According to football commentators the 1965 Wembley performance was one of the very best games to have been played at the Twin Towers.
Another memento was picking up the medallion awarded by the UNESCO Council of Sport and Physical Recreation for fair play. The latter was presented by the President of the West German club.
BBC Sports Team of the Year Award
Eddie Bovington
London Challenge Cup Final
The Hammers progressed to the final after first defeating Chelsea in a three-game thriller. After drawing 1-1 and 3-3, the second replay was won 4-2. The Second Round saw Barnet beaten 2-1 and a similar scoreline was attained by beating Queens Park Rangers at the Semi-Final stage. West Ham then travelled to meet Tottenham Hotspur in the Final at White Hart Lane on November 18, 1968. The Hammers fought out a draw after being twice in arrears, the 2-2 score-line was a fair reflection of the exchanges.
The replay at Upton Park a month later was made possible through some urgent work by the Hammers' ground-staff and an attendance of 6,095 saw a game of fluctuating fortunes.
The home side got away to a fine start when Peter Bennett headed home in the sixth minute, and put themselves in a strong position as Jimmy Lindsay burst through to score the second after 37 minutes. But Spurs were not to be denied, and they reduced their arrears five minutes later.
Six minutes after the interval the North Londoners equalised. Then we lost the services of Eddie Bovington who damaged his nose in a collision, and while Pat Holland was waiting to come on, down went Paul Heffer to reduce us to ten men. Fortunately his injury was not as serious as first appeared, and he was able to return. West Ham regained momentum, and the winner arrived seven minutes from time as Holland glanced home past an astonished defence.
West Ham United v. Tottenham Hotspur
Upton Park
16 December 1968
(3-2)
Death, Heffer, Glozier, Bovington (Holland), Morgan, Miller, Clements, Bennett, Hartley, Lindsay, Llewelyn
London Challenge Cup Final
XIII Torneo Umberto Caligaris
Banca Di Casale E Del Monferrato 8 - 15 Giugno 1969
The tournament in Italy is regarded with considerable prestige by Italian clubs, which included Fiorentina and Casale F.B.C. in addition to the four sides, we met Internazionale, Torino, and Lanerossi as well and Juventus who the Hammers met on the way to the Final. A win and two drawn games at the group stage took us into the semi-final where we opposed Juventus.
The game ended goalless at full-time, but our stamina told in the end and the Hammers gained a merited 3-1 victory in extra-time. The Final again brought us in opposition to Lanerossi, whom we had drawn 1-1 in the preliminary group.
It promised to be an even contest, and was decided by an "own goal" twelve minutes after the start. The Italians then went on the defensive and although we had much more of the exchanges "the wall" held out to the final whistle.
XIII Torneo Umberto Caligaris