West Ham United Personalised Gifts
Our West Ham Gifts are unofficial products, and are in no way affiliated with West Ham FC, unless specifically stated in the product information.
West Ham United Memorabilia and Gift Ideas
GoneDigging has a fabulous range of personalised West Ham United merchandise, including unique memorabilia and great gift ideas. Below you will find a selection of our most popular West Ham gifts, in addition to a few interesting facts about the Hammers.
Brief History of West Ham FC
West Ham FC was founded as Thames Ironworks in 1895 by employees of the shipyard and iron works, based at Leamouth. The club turned professional in 1898 and won promotion to the First Division at the first attempt. Following financial problems and arguments surrounding the direction of the team, Thames Ironworks dissolved in 1900 and immediately re-formed as West Ham United. The Hammers reached the First Division in 1923 and in the same year, contested the first FA Cup final to be played at Wembley Stadium. Ron Greenwood was appointed manager of West Ham in 1961. He led the team to a second FA Cup in 1964 and won the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1965. The successful Hammers side featured iconic players such as Bobby Moore, Martin Peters and Geoff Hurst. All three players became a key part of England’s World Cup win in 1966, leading supporters to nickname the club “The Academy of Football".
John Lyall took over from Greenwood in 1974. West Ham won the FA Cup and finished as runners-up of the League Cup under his management. The club also reached the final of the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in 1976. The Hammers achieved a top three finish in the First Division in 1986, which remains the club’s highest placing to date. Since the turn of the century, West Ham has commonly played in the Premiership. The club also made the news by appointing Gianfranco Zola as manager in 2008. Zola was West Ham’s first European manager and a former star of rivals Chelsea.
Did you know...
West Ham United FC is known as “The Hammers", but this is not just a shortening of the club’s name. The West Ham crest features crossed rivet hammers, which is a reference to the club originating from the Thames Ironworks and the source of the team’s nickname. A castle was later added to the crest, which represents a local building called Green State House. This building is nicknamed Boleyn Castle, as it is where Henry VIII allegedly courted Anne Boleyn.
West Ham’s Stadium is officially named the Boleyn Ground, but it is more commonly referred to as Upton Park. The Hammers have played here since 1904, apart from a brief period in 1944. A V-1 flying bomb landed on the corner of the pitch, forcing the team to move ground for the space of nine games. Ironically, West Ham won all nine of these games played away from Upton Park. The ground holds approximately 35,000 supporters and plans have been suggested at various times to increase this capacity.
West Ham Memorabilia
We offer an exciting range of personalised West Ham gifts, which includes various items of West Ham memorabilia. These presents can be kept for years to come and they are a terrific idea for fans of the Hammers.
Our Personalised West Ham Football Book incorporates a variety of match reports from over one hundred years. Written by journalists who were there at the time, this reproduced newspaper coverage forms a fascinating record of some of the biggest games in the club’s history.
The Football Book opens with the Hammers’ inaugural game at Upton Park in 1904, which finished in a 3-0 win against the club’s biggest rivals, Millwall. The gift book goes on to feature several FA Cup wins, including the 1-0 victory against Arsenal in 1980, plus the triumphant European Cup Winners’ Cup campaign of 1964/1965. Other highlights include League Cup finals and the climax of the 1976 European Cup Winners’ Cup. We also incorporate Second Division title wins, promotion-clinching victories and successful play-off finals. Our selection of classic games includes the 3-2 win against Manchester United in 1958, the 4-1 defeat of Chelsea in 1988 and the classic 2006 FA Cup final against Liverpool, which went to penalties. There are also high-scoring thrillers, such as the 8-0 thrashing of Sunderland in 1968 - featuring six Geoff Hurst goals - and the 5-0 trouncing of Derby County in 2007.
Twelve of the best match reports are featured in our Personalised West Ham Diary and Personalised West Ham Calendar. Highlights include the 1964 FA Cup win and the victorious 1965 European Cup Winners’ Cup final. We also incorporate the 7-0 thrashing of Leeds United in 1966 and the 5-0 victory against Charlton Athletic in 2000, which included a memorable Di Canio goal. Both gifts can start from the month of your choice and they are a fantastic way to keep track of future events, whilst reminiscing upon former glory days.
If you would like to commemorate the current season, why not sign up to My West Ham Football Year? This service allows you to create a customised season book, with the option of editing match reports, statistics and photographs from every West Ham United game. At the end of the season you will receive your professionally printed and bound book, with up to two hundred pictures included.
More Gift Ideas
Our Personalised West Ham Commentaries make unusual and entertaining presents for fans of the Hammers. A professional radio commentator will record an original commentary, based upon your choice of match highlights. Your recipient could become the hero of Upton Park by saving a crucial penalty, providing a great assist or scoring a stunning last-minute goal. In doing so, they could also be nominated as Man of the Match.
Another fun gift idea is a Spoof Newspaper Headline. Recipients can become Player of the Year or an FA Cup Winner. Alternatively, they could be the Star Performer for West Ham in a convincing win against Millwall, Spurs or any other team of your choice.