One of the lesser known facts about games between West Ham United and Birmingham City is that Ron Greenwood never lost a home game against the boys from St. Andrews.
Mr Greenwood took up the manager's mantle in 1961 and for the next 13 years Upton Park did not lose any of the seven League and Cup encounters played at the old place. It should be noted that Birmingham were relegated for the latter part of the 1960s.
Here are some of the programmes from that period which generally sell for just a few pounds and bring back a flood of memories when Ron Greenwood replaced the old clump and thump approach to football with overlapping defenders, near post headers and adventurous, stylish football.
The pick of those games came in seasons 1962-63 and 1963-64,
when the Hammers ran out 5-0 winners on both occasions. Among the
scorers were Hurst, Byrne, Brabrook, Sissons, Musgrove, and Brown.
How fitting it would be to see a near-post header at tonight's
match.
Any discussion about the contribution of Ron Greenwood cannot ignore the tangible success he brought to the Club and any collector of serious repute will have copies of the programmes from the FA Cup final in 1964 and the European Cup Winners' Cup final a year later. Each programme can be yours for around the £20 mark.
Birmingham City's visit to Upton Park could see West Ham United notch a magnificent seven of consecutive League and FA Cup victories. The Hammers are a little way off the nine consecutive top flight League wins registered in 1985-86 which, incidentally, culminated with a 3-0 over the men from the Midlands. A certain David Seaman was in goal for Blues that day.
Both teams are still in the FA Cup and have only met each other twice in that particular competition since the first ever encounter between the clubs in 1919. West Ham have been victorious on both occasions, the first in 1933, 4-0 and latterly, 4-2, during the Greenwood era, 1965.
One of the most exciting corners of the collecting world is the football trade cards and stickers. Nothing compares to the visual impact such cards possess and we will sign off this particular instalment with a few of the cards produced on West Ham United's High Priest of Football, Ron Greenwood - RIP.