West Ham United

Where is West Ham United?

West Ham United Football Club is based in London. Their home ground is called The Boleyn Ground and is in Upton Park, Newham. Upton Park is in the east of London and has been associated with football for a long time and many West Ham fans call their home ground Upton Park.

When was the club founded?

West Ham United was founded as the Thames Ironworks team in 1895. They have two nicknames: The Irons and The Hammers and these both relate to the club’s origin as an Ironworks team. The club was renamed West Ham United in 1900. Why do West Ham United play in the same colours as Aston Villa?

In 1899, Bill Dove, the father of a West Ham United player, went to a fair in Birmingham. Bill Dove was a professional sprinter and was challenged to a race by four Aston Villa players. The Aston Villa players made a bet that they could beat Bill Dove, but in the end, they all lost and didn’t have the money to pay. The Aston Villa players gave Bill Dove a complete team’s football kits instead of payment and Bill gave these kits to his son.

Why is the stadium called “The Boleyn Ground”?

The modern stadium is built on a plot of land that used to the gardens of an enormous house called Green house. Locally, Green house had a different name. It was called Boleyn Castle because some people believed that the house was owned by the second wife of King Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn. West Ham United have a castle on their club crest in memory of Boleyn Castle. So Green House which was known unofficially as Boleyn Castle gave its name to The Boleyn Ground which is known unofficially as Upton Park.

What is West Ham west of?

West Ham is actually in the east of London. The word ‘ham’ when it’s part of a town name actually comes from an old English word meaning settlement. There is an area next to West Ham called East Ham. In 1965, a new borough was formed by merging these areas. The new borough was called Newham. Today, Newham is one of the most ethnically diverse parts of the UK.

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West Ham United - Comprehension

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