1895–96 Thames Ironworks F.C. season 1895–96 Thames Ironworks F.C. season Thames Ironworks F.C., the club that would later become West Ham United F.C., was founded by Dave Taylor and Arnold Hills in 1895. Taylor was a foreman at the Thames Iron Works and a local football referee. Thanks to Ironworks owner Arnold Hills' financial backing, he was able to announce on 29 June 1895 the following in the company's weekly journal: Fifty would-be players paid half-a-crown for a year's membership, and Taylor spent the summer arranging the fixtures for Thames Ironworks F.C. and their reserves. Before the Irons played their first game Taylor returned to
Thames Rowing Club 1879 at a cost of over £3000. Thames, under its captain James Hastie, was now established as a mainstay of amateur rowing in London, and as a rival to its Putney neighbour London Rowing Club. In 1879 Thames, like London, was one of the founder clubs of the Metropolitan Rowing Association which later became the (defunct) Amateur Rowing Association (ARA). This early period was the time of the great Victorian amateur. Many Thames members were keen on all sports and the club itself also had an influence beyond rowing: In December 1867, Thames organised a two and a half mile