West Ham FA Cup Winners 1964

by John lawrence
(London UK)

I am a west ham man, born five paces from Upton park.

When West Ham won the 1964 F A Cup i was seventeen years old and one of the local cock of the walk boys, proud, east end clever, just enjoying being alive.

West Ham's ground was our home game meeting place, a ritual all of the local fans never missed.

In the local pubs the final was our access to the holy grail, the FA cup!.

We never had the money for a ticket, they were all gone to the toffs and the wide boys long ago, but our heart and souls knew the cup was coming home to Upton Park.

As the game progressed and the excitement built all of our local people listened to the radios or watched on the televisions (those who could afford them) and bit their nails with tension.

When we won all our street poured into the road and cheered with the result now a part of East end history.

Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst now our heroes, to become with Martin Peters two years later English legends with the winning of the World Cup.

We all went to Upton Park to watch the open top bus and the following parade, we were a poor area, now rich with pride the best team in the country, the top, and we still, when we meet, talk of our East End as it was, a great community, working class and very proud of it.