Ghanaian-born 1975 FA Youth Cup finalist John Domfe tells Steve Blowers about his days as a young professional at West Ham United, his career-ending injury, the support he received from the Hammers and his post-football life as a roofer and family man...
From Hammers Youths to fixing roofs.
It has certainly been an eventful half-century for John Domfe.
After coming so tantalisingly close to first-team action down West Ham way, his fledgling, footballing career was cruelly cut short by injury.
These days, he is reaching different heights climbing ladders in south-east London.
“I’ve been a roofer for 40 years now and, although it’s all been a bit up and down, there’s not an ounce of fat on me,” jests John, who arrived in England from his native Ghana in the early-1960s alongside his Mum Rose and three siblings. “I can still go dancing and haven’t forgotten all my little moves and stepovers.”
But, it was no elegant waltz for the Domfe family six decades ago.
“Growing up in Surrey, we’d lots of love but not many material things,” explains the 1975 FA Youth Cup finalist. “A single parent, Mum was a proud, hard-working nurse-turned-midwife, who had to bring home the bread for my brothers Wilf and Richard plus my sister Philomena and myself.
“We were the only Black kids in the entire school but were so loved by our teachers at Purley Oak juniors. I was already quite good at sport but that really kicked on at secondary school.
“My sports master at Thomas More Catholic School was a table-tennis international, who really liked me. Football-wise, he pushed me forward to represent Purley and then Surrey, while - rain or shine - my eldest brother, Wilf, stood on the touchline watching every match.
“West Ham’s south-east scout - Wilf Chitty - was big mates with the Club’s chief scout Wally St. Pier. He spotted me playing and I ended up training under the stand at the Boleyn Ground every Tuesday night, when Tony Carr and first-team players like Kevin Lock and Ronnie Boyce coached us.
“Back home, we were really competitive as brothers and often joked: ‘Who’ll be most famous?’
“Wilf went on to work really hard for Hackney Council and ended up having a road - Domfe Place - named after him, while Richard became the only Black kid to feature in the television series Please Sir! Doing well during those Tuesday sessions at Upton Park, my best chance was to become a footballer,” continues John, who signed apprentice forms for the Hammers in July 1972.
“Virtually having no money, the Club were paying everything for us and I’d already made up my mind that I wanted to sign for them before Arsenal came along and showed late interest but Mum, who’d high values and morals, said: ‘John, just remember what West Ham United have done for us. You must not look away now.’
“From the moment I turned up at Chadwell Heath, everyone made me feel so special - all the players plus the coaching and backroom staff. What amazing people.
“When I first met Bobby Moore, I shook his hand thinking: ‘Oh my God, he’s actually real!’ I was pinching myself. I’d touched England’s FIFA World Cup winning captain. What a lovely man - Bobby was so modest, so unassuming and he never, ever said a word out of turn.
“Frank Lampard senior often gave me little presents. ‘Have these, son,’ he’d say handing over a new pair of trainers or boots and, every Christmas, a big van arrived at the training ground, where the manager, Mr Greenwood, would give everyone a fresh turkey.
“After a couple of years, Mum started asking: ‘Are we getting a turkey this year?’ I’d reply: ‘Don’t worry, it’s coming!’
“But it was also a terrible time to be a Black footballer with people throwing things onto the pitch and chanting horrible things, too,” contends John, who found himself growing up in a poisonous snake-pit of unbearable bigotry and bile. “Thick-skinned boys, we all had to stand up for ourselves and be strong.
“Some people reckoned I should’ve made England’s Youth squad but it was virtually impossible for Black kids to break through.
“With John and Clive Charles plus Clyde Best and Ade Coker making it into West Ham’s first-team, though, there was a pathway to inspire us. In 1971/72, I’d been in the stands at Selhurst Park, when Ade scored on his debut against Crystal Palace (3-0) and things like that gave me focus. I could see what could be achieved with dedication and sheer hard work.
“Those four weren’t really my mates, though,” counters Domfe, who signed a professional contract in December 1974. “We never socialised because they were older and, to be honest, the youth team lads were my friends.
“Dave Danson and Chris Smith were like brothers to me. After matches, ‘Smudger’ would take me home, where his Mum cooked dinner for us before putting me up for the evening. ‘You’re not going all that way back at this time of night,’ she’d say.
“With Smudger, Danno, Paul Brush, Alan Curbishley, Alvin Martin, Geoff Pike, Tony Tuddenham, Terry Sharpe - who we sadly lost last year - plus Derek Fraser and Malcolm Hill, we were a lovely unit.”
Indeed, during 1974/75 Domfe and those Hammers colts saw off Charlton Athletic, Watford, Liverpool, Chelsea and Middlesbrough on their way to an FA Youth Cup final showdown with Ipswich Town.
“We achieved over and above that season,” nods Domfe, recalling an eventual two-legged final defeat against the Tractor Boys. “But with Russell Osman, John Wark, Keith Bertschin and David Geddis, Ipswich were a very good side. Although the final killed us, it was brilliant to see ‘Curbs’, ‘Brushy’, Alvin and ‘Pikey’ go on to play first-team football.
“Moving up to the Reserves, I got tremendous support from the Club, when it came to any racist abuse. Playing as left-back down on the south coast, I was getting stick from a group of home fans, who were totally on me right from the start.
“At half-time, Ernie Gregory - one of our coaches - said: ‘You shouldn’t be treated like that, we’re bringing you off.’ Meanwhile, those people had walked around the terraces to have another go at me on the opposite side of the stadium. I never came out for the second half so they were just left standing there with no-one to abuse.
“Ignorant? Jealous? Or both? They would’ve loved to have been in my position playing football.”
Continuing to impress both Greenwood and John Lyall, Domfe also came excruciating close to a first-team call-up.
“On the train to Stoke City, Frank said: ‘Son, this could be your day?’ Then, I got a tap to go to Mr Greenwood’s carriage, where he explained they’d be finalising the team upon arrival at the ground and, for me, everything apparently depended upon whether a certain kid was playing for Stoke.
“Getting back to my seat Frank asked what’d happened? ‘Yes, it could be my day!’ I replied.
“But that ‘kid’ was Garth Crooks and - with him starting the game - that was the end of the matter. It was the closest I ever got to my first-team debut.”
Sadly for John, his career was then derailed by two nasty knee injuries.
“Playing for the reserves, I got injured at Palace,” he grimaces. “Despite being a striker - as our only substitute - it was fate that Brushy replaced me in defence, where he went on to establish himself as a left-back.
“Having got myself fit again, we played Norwich City, who’d a big lump of a first-teamer playing for their reserves. Not wanting to be out there, he clearly hated everyone and would’ve taken the head off anyone daring to nutmeg him!
“Shielding the ball, I’d got my back to him but he came through me with so much force that he shattered my patellar tendon, which needed re-attaching to my knee.
“Out of the game for months, I’d started jogging around the Boleyn Ground, when a big voice boomed out from the stands: ‘Oi, Domfe stop running with a limp!’
“It was physio, Rob Jenkins. We both realised I was finished because my knee was never getting better. It just wouldn’t be able to cope with physical contact.
“Mr Greenwood called me into his office and said: ‘I’m not sure where we’re going with this but I’m still giving you a one-year contract. Let’s see how you get on.’
“He hadn’t needed to do that but it shows how West Ham always looked after me. Once your knees have gone, though, they’ve gone and the Club ended up settling my contract early, which they didn’t have to do, either.
“I knew I’d never play at that level again and sat there crying my eyes out,” recalls John, who went under the knife, once more, after breaking down on the non-league circuit having joined Epsom & Ewell. “Three operations. Three scars.
“Then, on Grand National day, someone persuaded me to back the winner - Red Rum. I handed over a fiver and quickly got a bundle of notes back. Stupidly, I was hooked and the bookies ended up with a lot of that pay-off, which I spent in no time.
“Thankfully, I got myself back on my feet and learned my trade as a roofer. Nowadays, I’ve got properties in Ghana, where my girlfriend - and Mum’s former helper - Suzie lives with Priscilla her daughter, who I’ve adopted. Aged 68, I’m hoping to enjoy my retirement living over there, soon,” he confides, contemplating parking up his white van for one last time and heading to the folks back home in his African birthplace.
Equally, John will always hold a special place in his heart for the band of brothers in his extended West Ham family, too.
“We’re still the best of mates 50 years on,” he concludes. “I love them all and have had some great reunions recently. I just wish that we could all keep meeting up more often…”
*To read the story of the young Black Hammers of the early 1970s - Chester Brown, John Domfe, Emmanuel Egbuniwe and Tyrone James, click HERE.
