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1895–96 Thames Ironworks F.C. season
The 1895–96 season was the inaugural season of Thames Ironworks, the club that would later become West Ham United. The club was founded by Dave Taylor and Arnold Hills in 1895 as the works team of the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company. Taylor was a foreman at the Ironworks and a local football referee. Thanks to Ironworks owner Arnold Hills' financial backing, he was able to announce on 29 June 1895 the following in the company's weekly journal:
Fifty would-be players paid half-a-crown for a year's membership, and Taylor spent the summer arranging the fixtures for Thames Ironworks F.C. and their reserves. Before the Irons played their first game Taylor returned to refereeing, handing over organizational duties to Ted Harsent.[3] The birth of Thames Ironworks F.C. coincided with the demise of Old Castle Swifts, the first professional football club in Essex. Thames took over the tenancy of Castle Swifts' Hermit Road ground in Canning Town and also signed four of their players. The Hermit Road ground had been described as a 'cinder heap' and 'barren waste'. It was surrounded by a moat and had canvas sheeting for fencing.[4] The Swifts that joined the Ironworks team were right-back and winger Robert Stevenson and forwards Jamie Lindsay and George Sage. Scotsman Bob Stevenson became the club's first ever captain and he is credited as being the team's first player of note. He would also play at full-back and centre-forward during his Irons career.[4] Looking to bolster their attacking strength, the Irons had also recruited Ironworks employee George Gresham, an inside-forward who had played for Gainsborough Trinity, who would go on to score many goals for the club in the following four seasons.[5] The original colours of the team were Oxford Blue due to Arnold Hills being a former student of the University of Oxford, although they used a variety of kits, often wearing navy blue or white.[6] The Ironworks played their first ever fixture against Royal Ordnance reserves on 7 September 1895, the game ending 1–1.[7] Other players likely to have been involved in this first game were Iron Works employee Charlie Dove, who had played at full-back and centre forward during his time as a school player, and Essex cricketer John Wood, who was the cousin of jockey Fred Archer. Dove was mainly used as a defender by The Irons, but would play every position for them during his stay there. The Irons' biggest win of the season came in their third friendly fixture on 28 September 1895 when they beat Manor Park 8–0. The newly formed club had the audacity to enter the FA Cup competition, as recorded in the Thames Iron Works Gazette:
In Thames' first competitive game they took on Chatham in a preliminary qualifying round of the FA Cup . The match was played at Chatham's ground in Kent as they had rated the Irons' Hermit Road Ground as unsuitable. On 12 October before a crowd of 3,000 they lost to Chatham 5-0. Their biggest defeat came on 14 December when they lost in an away game to Iron Works rivals Millwall 6-0. 25 December saw Thames Ironworks face South West Ham at home, and they won 4–1, beginning a run of ten straight wins that ended on 17 February 1896, when they lost to South London team Vampires F.C. 3-1. In the semi-finals of the West Ham Charity Cup held on 15 February 1896, Thames Ironworks beat Park Grove 1–0, in a game staged in Plaistow. Park Grove protested over a technicality and forced a replay at Beckton Road, which The Ironworks won 3–0. On 7 March Thames Ironworks played Fulham for the first time in a friendly, winning the game 5–1. Following a number of trials against local sides, 16 March saw an experimental 'floodlit friendly' at the Hermit Road ground for Thames Ironworks, in their first encounter with Woolwich Arsenal. George Gresham scored twice, in an epic encounter that finished in favour of Woolwich Arsenal 5–3. George Gresham scored two of the Irons goals that day.[7][8] These early attempts at floodlighting were set up using Thames Iron Works engineers and equipment, and caused an amount of notoriety. They were also used for "The Irons" next game, in their first ever meeting with West Bromwich Albion, which they lost 4-2.[8][7] The following day, an epic confrontation followed as Thames Ironworks faced Barking in the final of the West Ham Charity Cup on 21 March 1896 at The Old Spotted Dog Ground in Upton Lane. Drawing 2–2, the match was replayed a week later, and again the teams drew, this time 0–0. Eventually the final was replayed for the second time on 20 April 1896 and the Irons won 1–0, lifting a trophy in their first ever season. Thames Ironworks won 30 of their 47 games in the 1895–96 season, drawing 5 and losing 12. They scored 136 goals and conceded 68. Squad statistics
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