Classy full-back Noel Cantwell is the latest player to feature in our #50GreatestHammers countdown, in association with Official Sleeve Partner Basset & Gold.
The 1958 Second Division title winner ranks at No40 as we continue to rank the top 50 of the near-1,000 players to have pulled on a West Ham United shirt since the Club was formed as Thames Ironworks FC in 1895.
You will have the chance to rank the top ten soon, so keep an eye on whufc.com and our official social channels for details of how you can cast your vote!
Noel Cantwell
Years with West Ham United: 1952-60
Appearances: 278
Goals: 12
One of the most-accomplished full-backs of his generation, Noel Cantwell starred for West Ham United throughout the 1950s.
Born in Cork, the tall, strong Irishman was spotted by the Hammers while playing for local club Cork Athletic and brought to east London in late 1952.
Over the next eight years, he would make the left-back berth his own, making well in excess of 250 appearances in all competitions.
Off the pitch, he was one of the architects of the Academy of Football under the guidance of fellow thinkers and innovators like Malcolm Allison, Phil Woosnam, Dave Sexton and manager Ted Fenton.
It was Cantwell, among others, who mentored a young Bobby Moore. The pair captained their respective nations in Ireland's friendly with England at Dalymount Park in Dublin in May 1964 (see picture).
A strong defender who was particularly good in the air, Cantwell also enjoyed marauding upfield and chipped in with a number of important goals during his time in Claret and Blue.
In 1957/58, he netted four times in 33 Second Division appearances as the Hammers won the title to return to the top flight after a 26-year absence.
Capped regularly by the Republic of Ireland, Cantwell represented his country 36 times in a period when teams played far less international football.
On departing West Ham in 1960, Cantwell moved on to Manchester United, where he won the FA Cup in 1963. He later managed Coventry City and Peterborough United, ran a pub, scouted for England manager Sven Goran Eriksson and coached in the United States.
After his death in 2005, a road was named in his honour in his home city, while West Ham fans of a certain age still revere the name Noel Cantwell.