Days of Iron: The Story of West Ham United in the Fifties

a decade when the East End of London still struggled to shrug off the cloak of World War II, manager built a formidable team. From 1956 to 1959 West Ham United fielded six full internationals. In 1958, the young Bobby Moore came into the side and by 1959 Geoff Hurst was emerging. The Championship side was full of talent with the likes of Ernie Gregory, John Bond, Noel Cantwell, John Dicvk and Vic Keeble. But the foundation had been laid earlier in the Fifties, a bedrock made up of sweat and lesser known players like Doug Wragg and Gerry Gazzard and the leading members of the famed ‘Football Academy’, Allison and Frank O Farrell. This is a story of those days, and all of the days of the Fifties, through the eyes of those who played - it is the story of West Ham’s ‘Days of Iron