1922–23 West Ham United F.C. season
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Major players brought in by manager Syd King included inside-left Billy Moore and inside-right Charlie Crossley from First Division clubs
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
and Everton. He also raided fellow Second Division teams, bringing in wingers
Billy Charlton William George Charlton (10 October 1900 – 20 June 1981) was an English footballer who played as an inside left for South Shields, West Ham United, Newport County, Cardiff City, Tranmere Rovers and Workington Workington is a coasta ...
from
South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. Historically, it was known in Roman times as Arbeia, and as Caer Urfa by Early Middle Ages. According to the 20 ...
and
Dick Richards Dick Richards (born 1936) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Known as a storyteller and an “actor’s director”, Richards worked with Robert Mitchum, Gene Hackman, Martin Sheen, Blythe Danner, Catherine Deneuve, Al ...
from Wolverhampton Wanderers.


Season summary

A disastrous start to their Division Two campaign saw West Ham win just three, and lose seven of their opening 15 fixtures. West Ham suffered their two biggest defeats of the season in consecutive away games. They lost to
Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...
4–1 in the meeting on 21 October 1922 and a week later to Leeds United 3–1. Billy Moore scored the only West Ham goals in both games. 11 November 1922 saw West Ham face Leeds United at home and they managed to keep a clean sheet, the game ending 0-0. This game was the start of a 32-game league and cup run that would see West Ham lose only once, in their home game against
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
on
Boxing Day Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Though it originated as a holiday to give gifts to the poor, today Boxing Day is primarily known as a shopping holiday. It ...
. West Ham's biggest win of the season came away to Leicester City on 15 February 1923 with the Hammers securing an emphatic 6–0 win. Billy Moore scored a hat-trick, with the other goals coming from Dick Richards,
Jimmy Ruffell James William Ruffell (8 August 1900 – 6 September 1989) was an English footballer who played as an outside-left. He made over 500 appearances in the Football League for West Ham United, and ended his career with a short spell at Aldershot. R ...
and
Jack Tresadern John Tresadern (26 September 1890 – 26 December 1959) was an English professional footballer and football manager. He played twice for the England national side. Playing career Tresadern, a left-half, began his career with non-league Wanstead, ...
. The first fruits of this long run of good form was West Ham's presence in their first major cup final. In the first ever FA Cup Final to be held at the newly built Wembley Stadium, it is thought that a quarter of a million people converged on a ground that had the capacity for half of that, to see West Ham play
Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...
. The match, that became known as the
White Horse Final The 1923 FA Cup Final was an association football match between Bolton Wanderers and West Ham United on 28 April 1923 at the original Wembley Stadium in London. The showpiece match of English football's primary cup competition, the Football A ...
, kicked off 45 minutes late with thousands of fans standing on the touchlines. West Ham were 1-0 down within six minutes. Jack Tresadern entered the crowd to retrieve the ball and before he could return to the pitch Bolton had profited from the numerical advantage and taken the lead, with a header from
David Jack David Bone Nightingale Jack (3 April 1898 – 10 September 1958) was an English footballer who played as an inside forward. He scored 267 goals from 490 appearances in the Football League playing for Plymouth Argyle, Bolton Wanderers and Arsena ...
. After a half-time break which had seen the players remain on the pitch, West Ham's only chance of the game came as Dick Richards swung a chest-high cross from the right wing for Vic Watson who had his shot saved and held by Bolton goalkeeper
Dick Pym Richard Henry Pym (2 February 1893 – 16 September 1988) was an English footballer best known for being the Bolton Wanderers goalkeeper at the first ever FA Cup final to be played at Wembley Stadium in 1923. The game, known as the '' White H ...
. Soon after, Bolton secured their victory with a goal from John Smith. There were so many bodies pressing up behind the goal that the ball instantly rebounded out and many had mistakenly thought that the ball had just hit a post. All subsequent FA Cup Finals were all-ticket. Two days after the cup final, West Ham put their disappointment aside and travelled north to face Sheffield Wednesday. West Ham earned what was considered a "brave" 2–0 win. This put them back on top of Division Two on goal difference, with only one game left to play. West Ham's final day 1–0 loss to eventual champions Notts County was irrelevant, as fellow challengers Leicester City fell at the last hurdle, losing to
Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...
. ''"The news of Leicester's loss was signalled from the veranda of the director's pavilion whilst a fierce struggle was going on around the Notts goal. Immediately there was a cheer, which swelled into a mighty roar as it was taken up by the crowd all around the ground. For the moment the players were confounded and the play seemed to hang in suspense, but immediately the loss of enthusiasm became apparent - it was a thrilling scene. An interesting touch was added when
Donald Cock Donald James Cock (10 July 1896 – 31 August 1974) was an English footballer. He was the younger brother of England international Jack Cock and his other brother Herbert was also a footballer. Born in Hayle, Cornwall, Cock started his prof ...
, the Notts County centre, found the opportunity on the field to shake hands with George Kay, the West Ham captain." - 'Corinthian', The Daily Graphic'' Both clubs had ensured promotion, and West Ham would be appearing in the First Division for the first time in their history. Vic Watson finished the season as top scorer with 27 goals in league and cup games. Billy Moore was the only ever-present player, finishing the season with 51 appearances.


Squad


Road to Wembley


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:West Ham United F.C. Season 1922-23 1922-23 English football clubs 1922–23 season 1922 sports events in London 1923 sports events in London