1895:
Arnold Hills, Managing Director of Thames Ironworks, gave permission and then largely funded the formation of a football club for workers in his ship-building company.

1898:
Thames Ironworks FC turn professional and elected to the Southern League. Home matches are played at Hermit Road ground.

1900:
Thames Ironworks FC disbanded and the Club reform as West Ham United FC.

1901:
Appointment of E.S. (Syd) King as Club secretary. He later became manager.

1904:
West Ham United moved from the Memorial Grounds (Canning Town) to the Boleyn Ground in Green Street, Upton Park. Played our first home game on September 2 against Millwall (won 3-0) in the Southern League. Billy Bridgeman was credited with all three goals.

1912:
Charlie Paynter appointed first team trainer and coach.

1913:
Danny Shea transferred to Blackburn Rovers for a then record fee of £2,000.

1915-18:
Played in London Combination war-time competition.

1919:
Elected to the Football League and played first Second Division game on August 30 against Lincoln City at Upton Park. Drew 1-1.

1921:
The fans were in uproar when the great Syd Puddefoot was transferred to Falkirk for £5,000 - a then record fee for a player moving from an English to a Scottish club. December 27 - First home game against foreign opposition. Beat Haarlem (Holland) 4-2.

1923:
April 28 - West Ham United played in the first Wembley FA Cup Final against Bolton Wanderers and lost 2-0 before an estimated crowd of over 250,000. Despite the disappointment, Hammers still won promotion to the First Division. May 1 - first English team to visit Germany after World War One. First match in Division One, away to Sunderland, drew 0-0. First home game in the top flight against Arsenal, won 1-0.

[PAGE]1925:
West Stand opened.

1929:
Vic Watson established a new Club individual scoring record when he hit six against Leeds United at Upton Park.

1931:
Charlie Paynter appointed trainer/manager following death of Syd King.

1932:
Relegated to Division Two.

1933:
Lost 2-1 to Everton in FA Cup semi-final at Wolverhampton.

1939-44:
Club played in various regional war-time competitions.

1940:
Beat Blackburn Rovers 1-0 at Wembley to win the Football League War Cup.

1945:
League football resumed and played in Football League (South).

1946:
Rejoined the Second Division.

1950:
Charlie Paynter retired as manager and was succeeded by Ted Fenton. Death of Club chairman W.J. Cearns. Reg Pratt succeeds him.

1953:
In April, West Ham United played first game under floodlights at Upton Park and defeated Tottenham Hotspur 2-1.

1955:
First game televised 'live' from Upton Park, drew 0-0 v Holland Sports.

1956:
In March the first League game to be played under floodlights took place at Upton Park. West Ham United beat Bury 3-2. Hammers became first winners of Southern Floodlight Cup after beating Aldershot 2-1 in the final.

1957:
Hammers made first appearance in FA Youth Cup final but lost 8-2 on aggregate to Manchester United.

1958:
Hammers won the Second Division championship and were promoted to the First Division. September 8 - Bobby Moore made his first team debut at home against Manchester United.

[PAGE]1959:
Hammers reached FA Youth Cup final again, but lost this time 2-1 on aggregate to Blackburn Rovers.

1961:
Ted Fenton resigned as manager after 11 years' service and was replaced by Ron Greenwood.

1962:
In March, Ron Greenwood bought Johnny Byrne from Crystal Palace for £65,000 - a then record fee between English clubs.

1963:
Third time lucky as Hammers reached the FA Youth Cup final and beat Liverpool 6-5 on aggregate.

1964:
Hammers lost 6-3 on aggregate to Leicester City in semi-final of the League Cup. May 2 - West Ham United defeated Preston North End 3-2 at Wembley to win the FA Cup for the first time in our history. August 15 - drew 2-2 v Liverpool at Anfield in the FA Charity Shield. September 23 - First European tie v La Gantoise (Belgium) in European Cup Winners' Cup at Ghent. Ronnie Boyce, scorer of the FA Cup final winner, was again on target.

1965 April 16:
Brian Dear scored five goals in a 20-minute spell, either side of half-time, in our 6-1 home win against West Bromwich Albion. May 19 - Hammers returned to Wembley in May to beat West Germans TSV Munich 1860 2-0 to win the European Cup Winners' Cup. Alan Sealey scored both goals.

1966:
Our first, and only, League Cup final appearance against West Bromwich Albion ended in a 5-3 aggregate defeat. West Ham United trio Bobby Moore (captain), Geoff Hurst (hat-trick hero) and Martin Peters (scorer of the other goal) starred for England in their 4-2 World Cup final victory against West Germany at Wembley.

1967:
West Brom inflicted more League Cup misery on us by winning our semi-final 6-2 on aggregate.

1968:
October 19 - Geoff Hurst equalled Vic Watson's record by scorng six goals in our 8-0 home slaughter of Sunderland. November 2 - Newly-built East Terrace opened for home game v QPR.

1969:
January 4 - New East Stand fully opened for the FA Cup visit of Bristol City.

1970:
March - Martin Peters became first of the World Cup-winning trio to leave the club when he joined Spurs in a £200,000 deal that also included Jimmy Greaves' move to Upton Park in part-exchange.

[PAGE]1971:
John Lyall appointed as assistant manager to Ron Greenwood.

1972:
Finally beaten by Stoke City in the semi-final of the League Cup after a four-game marathon. April 15 - Geoff Hurst played his last game for Hammers at home v Liverpool before his £80,000 transfer to Stoke City.

1974 March 14:
Bobby Moore left to join Fulham on deadline day for a token £25,000 fee after making a then record number of appearances for the Club. Mooro had made his last senior appearance for Hammers in the FA Cup tie v Hereford United on January 5 and his last-ever game for the Club was at home against Plymouth Argyle Reserves.

1975:
- this time by Ipswich Town, 5-1 on aggregate. May 3 - West Ham United played met Bobby Moore's Fulham in the all-London FA Cup final and won 2-0 thanks to two Alan Taylor goals. August 9 - Derby County beat us 2-0 at Wembley in the FA Charity Shield.

1976:
Hammers lost 4-2 to Anderlecht (Belgium) in the European Cup Winners' Cup final at the Heysel Stadium, Brussels.

1977:
Manchester United were the visitors for the first all-ticket match at Upton Park, on the insistence of the Football League, since pre-World War Two. December - Ron Greenwood left the Club to succeed Don Revie as manager of England. John Lyall replaced him as Hammers' team boss.

1978:
Relegated to the Second Division.

1979:
In February, giant goalkeeper Phil Parkes transferred from QPR to Upton Park for a then Club record fee of £565,000. This was a then world record fee for a goalkeeper. Len Cearns succeeded Reg Pratt (who became President) as Chairman.

1980 May 10:
Hammers beat overwhelming favourites Arsenal to win the FA Cup final at Wembley. Trevor Brooking scored the winner - with his head!

1981:
Won promotion back to the First Division as champions of the Second with a record number of points - 66. Hammers reached the League Cup final but lost to Liverpool, 2-1, in a replay at Villa Park after drawing 1-1 at Wembley. Won the FA Youth Cup final for the second time - against Spurs, 2-1 on aggregate.

[PAGE]1982 September 7:
Billy Bonds beat Bobby Moore's appearance record when he played his 545th League game for Hammers against Ipswich Town.

1983 October 25:
Our biggest-ever win - a 10-0 battering of Bury in the League Cup at Upton Park.

1984 March 27:
Death of Club President Reg Pratt. May 14 - Trevor Brooking played his last game for the Hammers against Everton at Upton Park. It was his 528th appearance for the Club. Billy Bonds made his 700th League appearance as a substitute against Watford.

1985:
Our youth team won the South East Counties (Div. 1) championship for the first time.

1986:
Hammers achieved highest-ever top flight finish - third place in Canon League Division One behind champions Liverpool and runners-up Everton. The strike partnership of Tony Cottee and Frank McAvennie netted a total of 54 league and cup goals between them and the Hammers came as close as they have ever been to winning the League title.

1988:
Hammers recorded their 1,000th League victory with a 1-0 win at Millwall.

1989:
A 5-1 defeat in the last game at Liverpool condemned Hammers to relegation and preceded the sacking of John Lyall, who had given 34 years' service to the Club as office junior, player, coach and manager. Lou Macari, from Swindon Town, became Hammers' sixth manager.

1990 February 20:
Lou Macari resigned and Billy Bonds, the youth team coach, appointed as new manager. Martin Cearns succeeded his father, Len, as Chairman. Hammers were defeated in the semi-finals of the League Cup for the third time - on this occasion by Oldham Athletic, 6-3 on aggregate after losing the first leg away 6-0. March 17 - the first-ever 'live' big screen beamback at Upton Park features the Leeds United away game. Hammers set a new club record of 19 consecutive matches without defeat.

1991:
More semi-final heartbreak - this time in the FA Cup when we were beaten 4-0 by Nottingham Forest at Villa Park. Defender Tony Gale was very harshly sent off with the match still goalless. November - Peter Storrie appointed as the Club's first Managing Director. The controversial and ill-fated Bond Scheme was launched to raise money needed to help fund the redevelopment of Upton Park to comply with findings of the Taylor Report.

[PAGE]1992:
Relegated from the First Division. Terence Brown elected Chairman, while Martin Cearnes became Vice-Chairman. Billy Bonds appointed Harry Redknapp as assistant manager.

1993:
On the morning of February 24, Bobby Moore died of bowel cancer, aged 51, and Upton Park became a shrine as fans gathered to mourn the loss of one of our all-time heroes. On the last day of the 1992-93 season, West Ham United beat Cambridge United at Upton Park to clinch promotion from the old First Division. Dale Gordon, a £750,000 signing from Rangers, scored the Club's first goal in the new FA Premier League, in a 1-1 draw at Coventry City.

1994:
In January, the lower tier of the new South Stand was opened and named The Bobby Moore Stand in memory of the legendary number six. March 7 - Former West Ham United stars returned to Upton Park for the Bobby Moore Memorial Match against a Premiership X1. August 10 - Billy Bonds resigned, ending 27 years' service to the Club, and Harry Redknapp appointed manager. Harry appointed brother-in-law Frank Lampard as his assistant.

1995 January 14:
the new Centenary Stand was opened to complete the initial £11.5 million rebuilding of Upton Park to establish an all-seater stadium. In August, West Ham United kicked-off our Centenary Season with a 2-1 defeat at home to Leeds United.

1996:
The youth team won the South-East Counties League championship but lost to Liverpool over two-legs in the FA Youth Cup final. A crowd of 15,725 turned up to watch the Upton Park tie.

1998:
The youth-team were again South-East Counties League champions. This proved to be the last season in that League as the Club joined the newly-formed FA Youth Academy which kicked off in the 1998-99 season.

1999 January:
Sir Geoff Hurst became the first former West Ham United player to become a knight in the Queen's New Year's Honours List. Cameroon midfielder Marc-Vivien Foe became the Club record signing in a £4.5million move from French club RC Lens. May - Hammers' youngsters set a new FA Youth Cup record when they hammered Coventry City 9-0 on aggregate in the final. Three days later, the Under-19s became the first-ever winners of the FA Youth Academy. MD Peter Storrie left the Club and was succeeded by Paul Aldridge.

The first team revived their fortunes and finished in fifth position - the second highest placing in the Club's history. Remarkably, though, UEFA's new European shake-up denies the Hammers a UEFA Cup place and they are forced to enter the much-maligned Intertoto Cup. Metz of France provided the opposition in the two-legged Intertoto Cup decider and despite a 1-0 defeat in the first leg at Upton Park, the Hammers pulled off a brilliant 3-1 victory across the Channel to secure UEFA Cup football for the first time in the Club's history. Sadly, Romanian giants Steaua Bucharest knocked the Hammers out in the second round after comfortable home and away first leg Osijek of Croatia. December 15 - A memorable penalty shootout victory over Aston Villa in the Worthington Cup quarter-final. However, the Hammers discovered two days that young substitute Manny Omoyinmi was cup-tied after playing for Gillingham in an earlier round, leading to a replay between the two sides.

[PAGE]2000:
The new millennium brought disaster as the Hammers lost their Worthington Cup re-match 3-1 to Villa. In November, the Club accepted an £18million bid from Leeds United for star defender Rio Ferdinand. The 21-year-old England international made his record-breaking move to Elland Road just days after playing his final match for Hammers…against Leeds. Ferdinand is the world's costliest defender and represents the Club's biggest-ever sale.

2001:
January 28: A day to remember as the Hammers overcame the odds to beat runaway Premiership leaders Manchester United in the FA Cup fourth round. Paolo Di Canio's 76th minute winner secured a famous 1-0 victory - the club's first win at Old Trafford since August 1986.
May 9: Just days after the Hammers have secured Premiership safety with a 3-0 win over Southampton in their final home game of the season, Harry Redknapp sensationally steps down as manager after almost seven years in the hotseat. Assistant manager Frank Lampard also leaves the club and Reserve Team coach Glenn Roeder is placed in temporary charge for the final match of the season, a 2-1 defeat at Middlesbrough on May 19.
June 14: After more than a month of speculation linking the likes of Alan Curbishley and Steve McClaren to the vacant post, West Ham United surprisingly appoint Roeder as the new boss after being impressed by his ideas and views on the way forward for the club. The former boyhood Hammers fan becomes only the ninth manager in the history of the club.
June 14: After admitting that he would find it hard to continue playing for the club following the departure of his father, Frank Lampard Jr completes an £11million move to London rivals Chelsea.

2002:

Glenn Roeder's first season at the helm ended in success with West Ham finishing seventh in the Premiership, their third best top flight finish ever. The year also saw the emergence of Joe Cole, Michael Carrick and Jermain Defoe as first team regulars at Upton Park. The Hammers signed England goalkeeper David James and he, along with Cole and Trevor Sinclair were included in England's 2002 World Cup squad on May 9.
That same day the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh officially opened the new Dr Martens West Stand.
The new season didn't begin in quite the same way as the old one had ended for West Ham, as they struggled to pick up points at Upton Park. The first victory of the campaign came in a spectacular 3-2 win at Stamford Bridge but come Christmas the Hammers were bottom of the league without a home win.

[PAGE]2003:

The year kicked off in better fashion for the Hammers winning their first home game of the season against Nottingham Forrest in the FA Cup in January.
The end of the month also saw them win their first Premiership game at Upton Park, when Jermain Defoe struck in the final minute against Blackburn.
Glen Johnson had come into the team, Joe Cole was made captain and the Hammers fortunes started to revive. Wins over West Brom, Spurs, Sunderland and Middlesbrough had given Roeder's team hope of survival, but the manager was taken ill and the reigns handed over Hammers legend Sir Trevor Brooking.
Back to back wins over Manchester City and Chelsea set up a nervous final day, but fortune was hiding that afternoon and West Ham were relegated.
It was all change over the summer with Cole, Freddie Kanoute, Johnson and Trevor Sinclair all sold and Matty Etherington and David Connolly brought in, as well as Neil Mellor on loan.
Roeder was only in charge for three games before departing Upton Park after defeat at Rotherham. Alan Pardew arrived as the new manager but due to disputes could not take charge until the end of October. He quickly started the rebuilding process signing Hayden Mullins and Marlon Harewood.

2004:

Jermain Defoe and David James departed in the transfer window but Hammers fan Bobby Zamora arrived from Spurs.
The automatic promotion places were slipping out of reach, but Padrew's team did enough to clinch fourth spot and a Playoff Semi-Final against Ipswich Town. The 1-0 defeat at Portman Road set up a mouth watering clash at Upton Park for the second leg which saw one of the best atmosphere's under the floodlights the Club has ever known. A spectacular second half strike from Matty Etherington and a scrambled effort from Christian Dailly were enough for the Hammers to earn a first trip to Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.
There was more heartbreak however, as Crystal Palace, who ironically wouldn't have even made the Playoff's if West Ham hadn't equalised against Wigan on the final day, triumphed 1-0.
West Ham had to prepare for another stay in the newly renamed Championship without Michael Carrick who departed for Spurs, but Pardew managed to capture the signature of veteran England international Teddy Sheringham.