Episode 6 : The Golden Generation (1958 to 1966)

Let us know what you think so farThe story of West Ham's greatest era. Ron Greenwood is appointed manager in 1961, Bobby Moore is made club captain at twenty-one, and within three years West Ham win the FA Cup. The following season they win a European trophy. And on 30 July 1966, three West Ham players — Moore, Hurst, and Peters — are central to England's World Cup Final victory over West Germany. This episode covers all of it, and asks what it means for a club to produce three men who changed the history of the sport.Research SourcesWikipedia: Bobby Moore – full biography; 544 appearances, 108 caps, FIFA Player of Tournament 1966, OBE 1967, death 24 February 1993 (aged 51), bowel cancer.Wikipedia: Ron Greenwood – born Burnley 1921; coaching career at Chelsea, Arsenal (assistant), England youth; appointed West Ham April 1961.Wikipedia: Geoff Hurst – born Ashton-under-Lyne 1941; joined West Ham 1959 as wing-half; converted to centre-forward by Greenwood; England debut May 1966; hat-trick in World Cup Final 30 July 1966.Wikipedia: Martin Peters – born Plaistow 1943; joined West Ham as schoolboy; debut 1962; described by Greenwood as "ten years ahead of his time".Wikipedia: 1964 FA Cup Final – West Ham 3-2 Preston North End; date 2 May 1964; Wembley, 100,000; Ronnie Boyce header in injury time.Wikipedia: 1965 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final – West Ham 2-0 TSV Munich 1860; Wembley 19 May 1965; Alan Sealey scored both goals.Wikipedia: 1966 FIFA World Cup Final – England 4-2 West Germany; 30 July 1966; Wembley; 96,924 attendance; Hurst hat-trick; Peters scored England's third. Moore wiped hands before receiving trophy from Queen Elizabeth II.Wikipedia: 1966 World Cup semi-final – England 2-1 Portugal; Peters scored (confirm exact scorer/goals).Wikipedia: 1965 Cup Winners' Cup campaign – West Ham beat Ghent, Sparta Prague, Lausanne, Real Zaragoza (semi), then Munich 1860 in final.Wikipedia: Ted Fenton – resigned March 1961; ill health.Bobby Moore biographies (Jeff Powell, 'Bobby Moore: The Life and Times of a Sporting Hero') – character portrait, composure under pressure, quietness as a leader, community connections.Key DatesAugust 1958 – West Ham begin first First Division season since 1932.8 All book references across the series:John Powles — Iron in the Blood: Thames Ironworks FC, the Club That Became West Ham United (Soccerdata, 2005) — amazon.com/dp/1899468226 — Out of print; second-hand copies available.Charles Korr — West Ham United: The Making of a Football Club (Gerald Duckworth & Co., 1986) — amazon.co.uk/dp/0715621262 — Out of print; second-hand copies available.Elliott Taylor — Up The Hammers!: The West Ham Battalion in the Great War 1914–1918 (2012; Third Edition 2015) — amazon.co.uk/dp/1479279463John Spurling — Syd King: The Man Who Built West Ham — Referenced in Episode 2 for King's management years.Charles Booth — Life and Labour of the People of London (1889–1903) — Referenced in Episode 1. Searchable free via LSE Digital Library.John Lovell — Stevedores and Dockers — Referenced in Episode 1. Background on dock labour conditions in Victorian East London.Jonathan Schneer — Ben Tillett: Portrait of a Labour Leader — Referenced in Episode 1. Context on the 1889 Great Dock Strike.Jeff Powell — Bobby Moore: The Life and Times of a Sporting Hero (Queen Anne Press, 2002) — amazon.co.uk/dp/1861055110Matt Dickinson — Bobby Moore: The Man in Full (2014) — amazon.co.uk/dp/0224091727 — Supplementary to Powell.Josh Chetwynd & ...