Dave Taylor (Thames Ironworks F.C. founder) Dave Taylor (Thames Ironworks F.C. founder) Dave Taylor was one of the co-founders of Thames Ironworks, the team that became West Ham United, in 1895. He was a foreman at the Thames Iron Works as well as being a local football referee. Taylor approached the Ironworks owner Arnold Hills with the idea of starting a works football team, and with his financial aid was able to announce on 29 June 1895 the following in the company's weekly journal: He organised the half-a-crown year's membership for fifty would-be players and spent that summer arranging the fixtures for the Thames Ironworks team
1898–99 Thames Ironworks F.C. season against Cowes and Sheppey. 1898–99 Thames Ironworks F.C. season The 1898–99 season was Thames Ironworks' fourth season after the club's formation in 1895. During the summer of 1898, Thames Ironworks became a professional outfit for the first time, to match their new status as new members of the Southern League. It was a decision reluctantly taken by Ironworks chairman Arnold Hills, who had always believed in the classical ideal of competitive sport being for its own sake. But with the success the club had been enjoying, together with the increased crowds at their Memorial Grounds venue, he relented, and was