West Ham United was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC, the works team of a major shipbuilding firm on the River Thames in east London. The club was reformed in 1900 as West Ham United and joined the Football League in 1919. The club's distinctive crossed-hammers crest dates to its industrial origins, and "the Hammers" remains one of English football's most recognisable nicknames.
West Ham's defining historical chapter came in the 1960s. The club won the 1964 FA Cup, then the 1965 European Cup Winners' Cup at Wembley — making them the first English side to win a European trophy on home soil. Just one year later, three West Ham players — Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters — formed the spine of the England team that won the 1966 World Cup, with Hurst's hat-trick in the final cementing the club's place in football folklore. Two more FA Cups followed in 1975 and 1980, the latter as a Second Division side.
The modern era saw West Ham relocate from the Boleyn Ground (Upton Park) to the London Stadium — the converted 2012 Olympic venue — in 2016, with the move expanding capacity to over 60,000. After decades without major silverware, the club returned to European prominence by winning the 2022-23 UEFA Europa Conference League under David Moyes — its first major trophy in 43 years. The club is renowned for producing top-class talent through its academy, including Bobby Moore, Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick, Joe Cole and Declan Rice. Co-owned today by David Sullivan and Daniel Křetínský, West Ham retain a fiercely loyal east London identity.