West Ham Football Kit
At the end of the 2015-2016
season, West Ham waved goodbye to the famous Boleyn Ground as they moved into
the Olympic Stadium. The ‘Hammers’ are famous for their claret and sky blue
shirts and are one of London’s most prestigious clubs.
Formed in 1895 as the works side
of the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, the club officially became
known as West Ham United in 1900 when they became a limited company. West Ham
have produced a number of legendary players over the years with Frank Lampard,
Paul Ince, Paolo di Canio, Rio Ferdinand, Martin Peters, Billy Bonds, Trevor
Brooking and Sir Geoff Hurst among those who starred under the lights of Upton
Park at some point in their careers.
The club have never won the
Premier League, but have three FA Cup trophies to their name with victories in
the 1965, 1975 and 1980 Cup Finals.
West Ham’s most famous player is
the great Bobby Moore, who spent the majority of his career with the Hammers
and captained England to glory in 1966.
West Ham Home Shirt
The original Hammers kit, when
the club were playing as Thames Ironworks, was dark blue as a result of
chairman Arnold Hills being a former student of Oxford University.
The Hammers introduced the claret
and blue home shirt in 1899 after right-half Charlie Dove was gifted an Aston
Villa jersey from his father, William, who coached at the club and was also an
athletics star. When challenged by four Villa players to a race at a local
fair, Dove defeated them and as the players were unable to pay the bet, he was
given a set of Villa shirts in lieu of payment.
As with the history of many other
famous club kits, it was on such a random story that the West Ham home jersey
was born. The club generally wear white shorts and claret socks to complete the
kit.
West Ham Shirt Crest
The very first crest adopted by
the club featured a crossed pair of rivet hammers – a set of tools which were
common place in the iron and shipbuilding industry – and is the basis for the
club’s nickname of the Hammers. In 1990, the badge was redesigned by a London
design agency.
In July 2014, the club announced
a new badge which was approved by supporters and would be introduced at the end
of the 2015-2016 season to mark the club’s move to the Olympic Stadium. The new
crest features the crossed hammers, inspired by the career of Bobby Moore and
adds the word ‘London’ in an attempt to improve the club’s branding on the
international arena.
West Ham Shirt Printing
With the influx of stars into the
Premier League, the demand for official shirt printing has reached
unprecedented levels in recent years. At UKSoccershop, we supply authentic name
and numbers for all the West Ham stars past and present, including your own
name and number.