Home of the Hammers

West Ham United''s move to the new Olympic Stadium ended a 114-year stay at the Boleyn Ground. The spiritual home of some of football''s greatest heroes: Bobby Moore, Billy Bonds, Trevor Brooking and Frank Lampard were just a few who made their name there, and revelled in its close-knit east London atmosphere. With the club anthem ''Bubbles'' ringing around the stands, the Boleyn Ground had a raw flavour of its own. There were unforgettable afternoons fashioned by the club''s two greatest managers, Ron Greenwood and John Lyall; fabulous nights under the lights, as the tightly-packed confines of the ground made it the most intense of stadiums; wonderful evenings competing against the best in Europe, such as beating Eintracht Frankfurt on a mud-heap of a pitch. Now it is gone, but the magic, the fervour, the triumphs, the disappointments and the special brand of humour which flourished there is captured here in all its glory. With full access to The Times archives and stunning photographic collection, lifelong Hammers fan John Dillon has penned the definitive history of the Home of the Hammers.

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