West Ham Stadium was a stadium that existed between 1928 and 1972 in Custom House,[1] in east London (it was in the County Borough of West Ham, in the county of Essex, at the time of the stadium's construction). The stadium was built in 1928 on Prince Regent Lane, near the site of the present-day Prince Regent DLR station.
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At first, the venue was used for greyhound racing and speedway on weekdays[2] and was the only greyhound/speedway stadium designed by the famous Archibald Leitch.[3] The stadium held a classic race The Cesarewitch and it was West Ham's highlight, originally run over 600 yards and won by some of the greats in its early years. The legendary Mick The Miller, who set a world record time in the heats, won the race in 1930 - he had earlier made his 600 yard debut at the track - while in 1931/2, Future Cutlet became the race's only dual winner. Later, in the fifties, both Pigalle Wonder (dead heat) and Mile Bush Pride were also successful. When West Ham closed in May 1972 the event moved to Belle Vue Stadium.[4]
The Speedway Hammers were involved in the top flight leagues 1929 to 1939; 1946 to 1955 and 1964 to 1971. They won the inaugural British League in 1965.[5] The Lakeside Hammers speedway team, formerly known as the Arena-Essex Hammers, who race at Arena Essex Raceway next to Lakeside Shopping Centre in Essex, are the closest team and took their name from the defunct West Ham Hammers outfit. The official record attendance for the stadia was 83,000 for a Test match against Australia.
To fill the stadium on weekends, a football team, Thames Association FC, was founded. After two years in the Southern Football League, Thames were promoted to the Football League Third Division South in 1930. Although the stadium could hold 120,000, Thames shared a catchment area with Charlton Athletic, Clapton Orient, Millwall and West Ham United. As a result, it had trouble attracting crowds and created the lowest recorded attendance in Football League history when just 469 people turned up to watch Thames take on Luton Town on 6 December 1930. Thames resigned from the Football League in May 1932 after finishing bottom and were dissolved soon afterward. West Ham Stadium continued to function as a greyhound and speedway stadium.
In his book 'One Day I'll Lose My Trousers', Pete Murray, 60s and 70s English Actor and Personality recalls times he spent watching Thames A.F.C with his Uncle Bill Reece(who had a small bus company)who was one of the Directors of Thames.Pete lived at the Nottingham Arms in Plaistow close to the Custom House Stadium.
To realise that this was the largest sporting arena during this era,it seems incredible that only 469 fans turned up on a cold December day all those years ago in such a massive Stadium.
I wonder if the stadium was ever filled to capacity by Greyhound or Speedway fans,maybe someone might know???? Its Art Deco buildings like the majestic ones at Walthamstow Greyhounds were not saved for future generations to admire,says a lot about English Heritage and their ability with monuments to a past but not forgotten epoch.
Thames only stayed two seasons in the football league,coming 20th and 22nd out of 22 teams during their brief stay. They had taken the place of Merthyr Town and were replaced by Aldershot Town in 1933.
The Greyhounds and Speedway (The West Ham 'AMMERS')lasted until 1972 when the stadium was demolished and used for re-development,but the street names of 'AMMERS' Speedway Riders of the past,now emblazon where the Stadium once was.....which was a nice thought. Steven Gascoigne,Mullaloo,Western Australia. 25.08.2011.
The stadium also hosted local baseball sides' home games in the 1930s and 1940s,[6]
Stock car racing was held in the stadium in the 1950s and 1960s. In those decades, many enthusiasts and garage owners throughout the London area built and raced cars, and in 1961 the stock car World Championship was held at West Ham, won by Jock Lloyd. By the mid 1960's, British stock cars had evolved from modified road cars into purpose-built single-seater "specials" of great power and stout construction. Photographs of cars at West Ham can be seen at www.oldstox.com [7]
The stadium was sold to developers who evicted the speedway team and closed the stadium in 1972. It was subsequently demolished and housing was built on the cleared site, with some streets named after former speedway stars. These are Atkinson Road (Arthur Atkinson), Croombs Road (Tommy Croombs), Young Road (Jack Young), Wilkinson Road (Arthur 'Bluey' Wilkinson), Lawson Close (Aub Lawson) and Hoskins Close (Johnnie Hoskins).
Despite the similarity of name, the stadium had nothing to do with West Ham United, who have played their home games at the Boleyn Ground, Upton Park since 1904.