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The decade after 1966 brings the gradual departure of Moore, Hurst, and Peters — and the arrival of Billy Bonds and Trevor Brooking. It also tells the story of Clyde Best, the teenager from Bermuda who became the most prominent Black player in English football in the early 1970s, facing systematic racist abuse and responding with a courage that changed the sport. The episode ends with the 1975 FA Cup win — and a painful European final defeat to Anderlecht in Brussels the following year.

Research Sources

Wikipedia: Clyde Best – born 24 February 1951; arrived West Ham 1968; debut 25 August 1969 vs Arsenal (1-1); first goal League Cup vs Halifax 3 September 1969; 221 appearances, 58 goals; left January 1976; OBE 2006; Bermuda Sports Hall of Fame 2004.

West Ham United official site (whufc.com): Ade Coker and Clyde Best article – confirms 1 April 1972 three Black players (Best, Coker, Charles) vs Spurs; 2-0 win.

West Ham United official site: Clyde Best Black History Month feature – debut details, first goals, Ron Greenwood as pioneer.

BritBrief.co.uk: Clyde Best interview – acid letter detail; teammates forming two lines in tunnel; Everton monkey chants.

Somegreengrassandaball.wordpress.com: Clyde Best – The Pioneer – details on racist abuse, National Front on terraces, professional slurs including reserve game against Norwich.

WestHamZone.com: Clyde Best documentary preview article – confirms documentary 'Transforming the Beautiful Game' premiering London March 2026; quotes Best on playing for those coming after him.

Wikipedia: Billy Bonds – born Woolwich 17 September 1946; died 30 November 2025; 663 league apps (club record); signed from Charlton 1967; captain after Moore 1974; five-time Hammer of the Year; MBE 1988; Billy Bonds Stand renamed 2019.

Wikipedia: Trevor Brooking – born Barking 2 October 1948; 647 appearances, 102 goals; debut 1967; 47 England caps; 1975 and 1980 FA Cups; 1976 Cup Winners' Cup Final; Knighted 2004.

Wikipedia: Martin Peters – sold to Spurs March 1970 for £200,000 (British record); Jimmy Greaves came other way.

Wikipedia: Geoff Hurst – left for Stoke City 1972; 252 goals in 499 West Ham appearances.

Wikipedia: Bobby Moore – left West Ham March 1974 for Fulham; played in 1975 FA Cup Final for Fulham vs West Ham.

West Ham United official site (The Boys of '75 features) – Trevor Brooking and Pat Holland accounts of 1974-75 FA Cup run.

Wikipedia: 1975 FA Cup Final – West Ham 2-0 Fulham; 3 May 1975; Alan Taylor scored both goals.

Wikipedia: 1975-76 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup – route: Reipas Lahti, Ararat Yerevan, Den Haag, Eintracht Frankfurt (semi), Anderlecht (final). Final: 5 May 1976, Heysel Stadium Brussels. Anderlecht 4-2 West Ham.

Trevor Brooking's account (whufc.com): confirms Eintracht Frankfurt second leg at Upton Park (14 April 1976, 39,202 crowd) was best atmosphere of his career; Brooking scored a header.

All book references across the series:

John Powles — Iron in the Blood: Thames Ironworks FC, the Club That Became West Ham United (Soccerdata, 2005) — amazon.com/dp/1899468226 — Out of print; second-hand copies available.

Charles Korr — West Ham United: The Making of a Football Club (Gerald Duckworth & Co., 1986) — amazon.co.uk/dp/0715621262 — Out of print; second-hand copies available.

Elliott Taylor — Up The Hammers!: The West Ham Battalion in the Great War 1914–1918 (2012; Third Edition 2015) — amazon.co.uk/dp/1479279463

John Spurling — Syd King: The Man Who Built West Ham — Referenced in Episode 2 for King's management years.

Charles Booth — Life and Labour of the People of London (1889–1903) — Referenced in Episode 1. Searchable free via LSE Digital Library.

John Lovell — Stevedores and Dockers — Referenced in Episode 1. Background on dock labour conditions in Victorian East London.

Jonathan Schneer — Ben Tillett: Portrait of a Labour Leader — Referenced in Episode 1. Context on the 1889 Great Dock Strike.

Jeff Powell — Bobby Moore: The Life and Times of a Sporting Hero (Queen Anne Press, 2002) — amazon.co.uk/dp/1861055110

Matt Dickinson — Bobby Moore: The Man in Full (2014) — amazon.co.uk/dp/0224091727 — Supplementary to Powell.

Josh Chetwynd & ...