Millwall F.C.–West Ham United F.C. rivalry

Founding of the clubs: 1885–98

Millwall Rovers Football Club was formed in 1885 by tinsmiths at JT Morton's canned food factory on the Isle of Dogs in the East End of London. Ten years later, Thames Ironworks Football Club was formed by Dave Taylor, a foreman at Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, London's last major shipbuilding firm. Arnold Hills, the company owner, decided to form a football team to improve the morale of his workforce. The two clubs were situated under three miles (4.8 km) apart. With each set of players and supporters working for opposing firms, competing for the same contracts, rivalries developed. The earliest meetings between the clubs were reserve games: the first ended in a 6–0 home win for Millwall Athletic Reserves on 14 December 1895 over a newly formed Thames Ironworks side. On 23 September 1897, the two sides played a first-team friendly match at Millwall's Athletic Grounds, Millwall Athletic won 2–0 in front of a crowd of 1,200 spectators.

Sixty meetings in sixteen years: 1899–1915

On 9 December 1899 the two teams met for their first competitive fixture – a Fifth Round qualifying match in the FA Cup. Millwall Athletic won 2–1 at Thames Ironworks' Memorial Grounds; their goal scorers were Hugh Goldie and Bert Banks. Millwall reached the 1899–1900 semi-final and lost 3–0 to Southampton, but gained the nickname The Lions from a newspaper headline heralding them as "The Lions of the South" for their cup exploits. The teams' second competitive meeting was a Southern League match that spanned two centuries. A fixture at the Memorial Grounds on 23 December 1899 was abandoned after 69 minutes owing to smog, with Millwall leading 2–0. Instead of replaying the game, the remaining 21 minutes were completed after the return fixture four months later, on 28 April 1900. After Ironworks won 1–0, the players took a short rest and played the rest of the abandoned game. With no further score, Millwall won the game 2–0.

Thames Ironworks was disbanded in June 1900 owing to disputes over the running of the club. The following month it was relaunched as West Ham United. The club's nickname is The Hammers, owing to their Ironworks origins. In the 1901–02 and 1902–03 seasons, Millwall and West Ham competed in the Southern League, London League, Western League and Southern Professional Charity Cup. The two sides met seven times in each of these seasons, the highest number of meetings in a season between the clubs. During this period Millwall were unbeaten in 12 consecutive games against West Ham, with nine wins and three draws over two years. This included a 7–1 win in a Southern Professional Charity Cup semi-final on 2 April 1903, the largest winning margin between the teams. Ben Hulse scored four of the goals at the Memorial Grounds. The run was finally broken on 1 September 1904, in a 3–0 victory at West Ham's first ever game at Upton Park, with two goals from Billy Bridgeman and one by Jack Flynn.

On 17 September 1906, in a Western League game, Millwall player Alf Dean was hurled against a metal advertising board by West Ham's Len Jarvis. Others were stretchered off following heavy tackles. The East Ham Echo reported: "From the very first kick of the ball it was seen likely to be some trouble, but the storm burst when Dean and Jarvis came into collision (Millwall had two players sent off during the match). This aroused considerable excitement among the spectators. The crowds on the bank having caught the fever, free fights were plentiful." In 1910 Millwall decided to drop Athletic from their name and move out of East London. With limited expansion space on the Isle of Dogs, the club wanted to boost support and attendances. It moved four miles to The Den, in New Cross, South London. The last East London derby between the teams was at Millwall's North Greenwich ground on 24 September 1910; West Ham won 2–0 with goals from Danny Shea and Fred Blackburn. Four months later, Millwall travelled to Upton Park as a South London team for the first time. The game ended in a 2–2 draw. On 9 March 1912, 28,400 supporters saw West Ham's first visit to The Den. The Lions won the game 5–1, with their Welsh international striker Wally Davis scoring a hat-trick.

Two World Wars and joining the Football League: 1915–45

A number of friendlies and non-competitive derbies took place during the First and Second World Wars. In total, 33 matches were played between the teams in Wartime Leagues. They both fielded severely depleted sides of juniors, reserves and non-professionals, playing 14 games in the London Combination between 1915 and 1919. West Ham won nine, Millwall three and two were drawn. After the First World War, the Football League was reintroduced in England by The Football Association and West Ham joined the Second Division for the 1919–20 season. Millwall joined the inaugural Third Division in the 1920–21 season, in the Football League expansion of 44 clubs to 66. In 1926 a general strike was observed by workers around the Royal Docks, the majority of whom were West Ham supporters. An unsubstantiated story states that Millwall-supporting shipyard workers of the Isle of Dogs refused to lend their support, provoking outrage. (At this time, Millwall had already moved away from the Isle of Dogs and were playing in New Cross.)

Between 1919 and 1930 the clubs played each other 12 times in the London Professional Footballers Association Charity Fund, London Challenge Cup and the FA Cup. On 15 February 1930, West Ham won the Fifth Round FA Cup game 4–1 at Upton Park; Vic Watson scored two goals, and Viv Gibbins and Tommy Yews one each. Harold Wadsworth replied for the Lions. The teams met for the first time in the Football League in the 1932–33 season, after West Ham were relegated from the First Division. On 17 September 1932, West Ham beat Millwall 3–0 at Upton Park in the Second Division, two goals being scored by George Watson and one by Jackie Morton.

On 27 December 1938, 42,200 spectators at Upton Park saw a Second Division game between the sides end 0–0. As of 2014, this remains the record attendance for the fixture. Between 1939 and 1946 the two clubs played non-competitive fixtures in the League South (A) Division, South Regional League, London League, Football League South and the Football League War Cup. They played 19 games against each other during the Second World War: Millwall won 3, West Ham 12 and 4 were drawn. The Den was severely damaged by a German bomb in 1943, and for a brief time Millwall were invited by their neighbours Charlton Athletic, Crystal Palace and West Ham to play their games at The Valley, Selhurst Park and Upton Park. To offset the shortage of professional players during the Second World War, a guest player system was introduced. Players such as Sailor Brown, Louis Cardwell and Jimmy Jinks played for both clubs during this period. West Ham lost 2–1 to Chelsea at White Hart Lane in the 1944–45 War Time Cup semi-final, with two Millwall guest-players in their team – both of whom went on to play for Millwall in the South Final, which they lost to Chelsea 2–0.

Different leagues and hooliganism: 1946–87

After the Second World War Millwall's form was poor and the club dropped into the Third and Fourth Division of the Football League. West Ham have never played below the Second Division in their history and often played a league or two above Millwall. The two sides did not play each other competitively between 13 October 1959 and 7 October 1978, making the 1960s the only decade the teams have not met. Despite the infrequency of their meetings, both sets of supporters still consider the other club their major rival. During these years, the Hammers enjoyed considerable success, winning the FA Cup in 1964, 1975 and 1980. They also won the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1965. Over four decades the sides were only in the same tier of the Football League for three seasons, in 1946–47, 1947–48 and 1978–79. They played two cup games against each other in the Southern Professional Floodlit Cup in 1959 and the Full Members Cup in 1987.

Football hooliganism reached its height in the 1970s and 80s. West Ham's Inter City Firm and the Millwall Bushwackers firm were at the forefront of the trouble, not just against each other, but against the police and firms associated with other football teams. In 1972, the two clubs played each other in a testimonial match for Millwall defender Harry Cripps, who began his career at West Ham. The game was marred by intense fighting between the two club's hooligan firms, both inside and outside the ground. Four years later, a Millwall supporter, Ian Pratt, died at New Cross railway station after falling out of a train during a fight with some West Ham fans. After the incident West Ham hooligans constructed the chant, "West Ham boys, we've got brains, we throw Millwall under trains." Millwall fans waited patiently for two years for revenge, until West Ham were relegated to the Second Division. Prior to their next meeting with the Hammers on 7 October 1978, leaflets were distributed at Millwall's home matches bearing the words: "A West Ham fan must die to avenge him." The police responded with an unprecedented show of force for the game at Upton Park, which West Ham won 3–0. Some 500 officers controlled the crowd, carrying out extensive searches and strict segregation.

The Lions' 2–1 home league victory over the Hammers on 14 May 1979 ended a run of ten games without a win against their rivals, which stretched over 46 years, back to 1933. Pop Robson had given West Ham a half-time lead, but second half goals from Dave Mehmet and Nicky Chatterton gave Millwall the win. A 2–1 victory in the Full Members Cup on 10 November 1987 gave Millwall their first win at Upton Park in 73 years. Alan Dickens gave the Hammers the lead in the second half, but two goals in three minutes from Teddy Sheringham and Tony Cascarino assured Millwall of their first away win in the derby since 1914. As of 2014, it stands as the Lions last away win in the fixture.

First top-flight meeting and the Mothers' Day Massacre: 1988–2008

In 1988 Millwall won the Second Division championship and gained promotion, joining West Ham in the First Division for the first time in the club's history. Paul Ince scored the only goal at The Den on 3 December 1988, as West Ham won the game 1–0. They also won 3–0 at home on 22 April 1989, with goals from Julian Dicks, George Parris and Alan Dickens. This is the first and only time either side has completed a Football League double over the other. At the end of the season West Ham finished 19th and were relegated. Millwall finished 10th, the highest league finish in their history. The 1988–89 season is the only season both teams have been in the top division of English football. Millwall were relegated from the First Division in the 1989–90 season, the last time they appeared in the top tier. During the foundation of the Premier League in 1992, the two teams competed the tier below in the newly formed First Division. The last game played between the teams at The Den was on 15 November 1992. It was the featured Sunday game on The London Match, an LWT sports show. Millwall won the game 2–1, with goals from Malcolm Allen and Phil Barber. Mark Robson replied for West Ham.

In the 1993–94 season, Millwall moved into the first purpose-built all-seater stadium, after the Taylor Report on the Hillsborough disaster. The Hammers were promoted, spending ten seasons in the Premier League and it was twelve years until they played at Millwall's new ground, The New Den. On Mothering Sunday, 24 March 2004, Millwall beat West Ham 4–1, with two goals from Tim Cahill, one from Nick Chadwick and a Christian Dailly own goal. Marlon Harewood scored the West Ham goal. This is the largest winning margin between the sides in the Football League. In an eventful game, Millwall missed one penalty and had another saved by West Ham goalkeeper Stephen Bywater, who was subsequently sent off. Violence also broke out between the opposing fans. Millwall fans and the media named the match "The Mothers' Day Massacre".

During an open-air showing in Canada Square, London Docklands of an England game in the 2006 World Cup against Paraguay, 100 West Ham and Millwall supporters fought each other, resulting in injuries to 16 people, one of whom required hospital treatment. The police shutdown the match screen although ten minutes of the game remained to be played.

Upton Park riot and West Ham move stadiums: 2009–present

In the 2009–10 season Millwall were drawn away to West Ham in the League Cup, which was the first meeting between the teams in the competition. The police cut the number of tickets given to travelling Millwall fans from 3,000 to 1,500, sparking anger among supporters; Millwall warned police of a higher probability of trouble. West Ham won the game 3–1 on 25 August 2009, their first win over Millwall in seven games played over in 18 years. Neil Harris had given Millwall the lead, but a goal from Junior Stanislas three minutes from the final whistle forced the game into extra-time. Stanislas added another and Zavon Hines a third for the win. Violence marred the match before, during and after kick-off, with multiple pitch invasions by Hammers supporters. Lions fan Alan Baker was stabbed outside the ground and suffered a punctured lung, but made a full recovery. He was one of 20 people injured. The police concluded that the violence, because of its large scale, was organised beforehand. The Football Association brought misconduct charges against both clubs. A disciplinary tribunal fined West Ham £115,000 for "failing to ensure that their fans did not enter the field of play and refrained from violent, threatening, obscene and provocative behaviour", but concluded that the allegations against Millwall of "violent, racist behaviour and throwing missiles or dangerous objects on to the pitch" had not been proved.

In a poor 2010–11 season, West Ham manager Avram Grant guided his team to only seven wins from 37 games. On 15 May 2011, the Hammers were finally relegated from the Premier League after a 3–2 defeat at Wigan Athletic. As Wigan equalised at 2–2, a light aircraft flew above Wigan's ground, the DW Stadium, trailing a banner which read "Avram Grant – Millwall Legend". Grant was sacked after the game. The plane had been hired by Millwall supporters from the fans' website House of Fun, celebrating Grant's failure to prevent West Ham's relegation. Their relegation meant they met the Lions in the 2011–12 Football League Championship. On 17 September 2011, their first league meeting for seven years ended in a 0–0 draw at The Den. The return fixture and most recent game between the two sides was on 4 February 2012. West Ham beat Millwall 2–1 at Upton Park, despite having their captain Kevin Nolan sent off after only nine minutes for serious foul play. West Ham's goal scorers were Carlton Cole and Winston Reid. Millwall's goal was by Liam Trotter.

Fixtures between Millwall and West Ham United are currently categorised by the Metropolitan Police as category C – games which carry a high risk of disorder amongst supporters. For the 2011–12 season, the Metropolitan Police implemented London-wide operations to ensure that the games passed by without any incident. In 2013 a member of West Ham's hooligan Inter City Firm was jailed for 12 months for organising violence between West Ham and Millwall fans during an FA Cup match between Dagenham & Redbridge and Millwall on 7 January 2012. He chose this game in the belief fewer police would be in attendance at a match in Dagenham, but who instead, turned out in force to prevent trouble. In November 2014 the two sides' development squads were drawn against each other in the U21 Premier League Cup. The Metropolitan Police took preventative measures against any trouble occurring, demanding the game at Rush Green kick-off at 12pm and be played behind closed doors.

Millwall and West Ham moved a mile closer and are now under four miles (6.23 km) apart, with the Hammers moving into the Olympic Stadium in Stratford in the 2016–17 season, ending 112 years at Upton Park.

Results

By competition

This table only includes competitive first-team games, excluding all pre-season games, friendlies, abandoned matches, testimonials and games played during the First and Second World Wars.

Full list of results

Firsts

Results

Trends

Managers and coaches

Billy Bonds is the only manager to have managed both clubs. He was in charge of West Ham from February 1990 to August 1994, managing the club for 227 games as the team yo-yoed between the First and Second divisions. He guided them to two promotions and one relegation. He resigned in August 1994. He was appointed as Millwall manager in May 1997 by chairman Theo Paphitis — an unpopular decision with many Lions fans due to his West Ham allegiance. Bonds, from south London, had several family members who were Millwall fans; a fact which meant some supporters felt he should be given a chance. After a good start, the team narrowly avoided relegation, finishing 18th in the Second Division. Bonds was sacked in May 1998, having been in charge of the side for only 53 games.

Ted Fenton managed West Ham from 1950–61 and was responsible for the establishment of youth development at the club, the Academy of Football. He won the 1957–58 Second Division championship, assuring top-flight football for the Hammers for the first time since 1932. His brother Benny Fenton started his career as a player at West Ham in 1937, before moving to Millwall in 1939. After he retired as a footballer, he moved into management, managing Millwall from 1966–74. On 17 January 1967 he was manager of the Lions team that established an English Football League record of 59 games unbeaten at home. The record was eventually taken by Liverpool in 1981, who went 85 games unbeaten at Anfield in all competitions.

Pat Holland, an FA Cup winner in 1975 with West Ham, served as Millwall assistant manager to Willie Donachie in 2006. After Donachie was fired in 2007, he continued on as chief scout until 2009. In June 2011 former Millwall player Sam Allardyce was appointed as manager of West Ham. In June 2013 Millwall appointed former Hammers captain Steve Lomas as their new manager. Lomas joined ex-West Ham defender Tim Breacker, who was Millwall's first-team coach. As a former West Ham player, Lomas' appointment was unpopular with many Millwall fans. Lomas was sacked on 26 December 2013, after winning only five of his 22 games in charge. In May 2014, former Millwall and West Ham player, Teddy Sheringham was appointed as an attacking coach with West Ham.

Players

Players who have played for both teams. Sailor Brown, Peter Buchanan, Johnny Burke, Louis Cardwell, Jimmy Jinks and Harold Pearson also played for both sides as wartime guest players.