West Ham United trace their history to 29 June 1895, when a London shipyard announced it was setting up a football team. On 29 June 2027 the Hammers turn 132. And the hammers on their badge are anything but a coincidence.

The shipyard team

Thames Ironworks was a shipyard on the banks of the Thames. Foreman and local referee Dave Taylor set up the team with backing from the owner, Arnold Hills, and on 29 June 1895 the company's weekly gazette announced the plan.

About fifty members paid an annual subscription of half a crown. The founders wanted an amateur team of shipyard workers, but in 1898 Thames Ironworks turned professional to compete in the Southern League.

The rebirth of 1900

At the end of June 1900 Thames Ironworks F.C. was wound up. On 5 July 1900 it was reborn as West Ham United, took the old club's place in the Southern League and in 1904 moved to the Boleyn Ground, better known as Upton Park.

The nicknames "Hammers" and "Irons" still recall the shipyard roots. The badge carries two crossed riveting hammers, the tools of the workers who built the ships.

From Oxford blue to claret

The first shirt was dark blue, a colour linked to Hills's student days at Oxford. Often, though, the team also wore the shipyard's colours, claret and sky blue.

In the summer of 1899 claret and blue were adopted for good. According to a disputed story, a sprinter beat some Aston Villa players in a race, and because they could not pay the bet, they gave him a set of their club's shirts.

Sources disagree on the names and on whether those shirts were ever worn. The classic claret shirt with sky blue sleeves became established from 1903.

The "Academy of Football"

In 1923 West Ham played in the first FA Cup final at the old Wembley, the so-called "White Horse Final", and lost 2-0 to Bolton. In the 1950s and 1960s Ted Fenton and Malcolm Allison built the youth system that became known as the "Academy of Football".

It produced Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters, key figures in the England side that won the 1966 World Cup. Just before that the club won the 1964 FA Cup and the 1965 Cup Winners' Cup, and for that final the Boleyn castle was added to the badge.

Cups, Europe and a hard 2026

Two more FA Cups followed, in 1975 with a 2-0 win over Fulham and in 1980 with a 1-0 win over Arsenal. In 2016 the club left Upton Park for the London Stadium, and for the last season at the old ground it wore a commemorative shirt inspired by the 1904 kit.

The new 2016 badge took its shape from the hull of HMS Warrior, a ship built by Thames Ironworks. In 2023 came the first major trophy in 43 years, the Conference League, with a 2-1 win over Fiorentina.

In 2025-26, however, despite a 3-0 win over Leeds on the final day, West Ham were relegated and now play in the Championship.

Celebrate with us

From the Thames shipyards to Wembley and Europe, West Ham have always held their hammers high. Happy 132nd birthday to the Hammers, and here's to a swift return to the top flight!

See our West Ham United jerseys at sportarena.gr.

Photo: The entrance of the Boleyn Ground at Upton Park – Oxyman, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 2.5.