20 Random Tottenham vs. West Ham United Facts

In-form Tottenham Hotspur entertain struggling West Ham United at White Hart Lane in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon looking to continue their recent good form in the league, and to mark the occasion we have compiled 20 left-field facts from the fixture’s long history for you to digest!

20: The History Boys

These two teams have been playing each other since Sept 3 1898 when West Ham, then known as the Thames Ironworks, lost 3-0 at home to their north London rivals.

19: There’s always a first time for everything

In the 115-year history of the fixture, there has only been one occasion when the match had to be abandoned, which was due to an air raid on Sept 7 1940. The contest was called after 80 minutes with Spurs leading 4-1 at the time, although the result still stood.

18: Playing the percentages

Spurs’ overall win percentage against West Ham is 53.94 going into this Sunday’s match-up at the Lane.

17: Runs are there to be broken

West Ham have not beaten Tottenham since a Frederic Piquionne header gave them a 1-0 win in the Premier League at Upton Park in September 2010—a run stretching back three matches.

16: Record breakers

Spurs recorded a 10-0 home win over their arch rivals in the Southern Charity Cup semi-final on Jan 9 1905, their best-ever win over the Hammers.

15: Record breakers Part II

Meanwhile, West Ham’s biggest-ever victory against Tottenham was by a five-goal margin which happened on two occasions. First on their travels on Oct 8 1906, with the second coming at home on March 16 1918.

14: Crowded House

The biggest-ever crowd to watch these two old foes in action was the 69,118 in attendance for an FA Cup sixth-round tie in March 1956 at White Hart Lane which ended in a thrilling 3-3 draw.

13: Small is beautiful

Whereas in contrast, the smallest-ever recorded attendance to see the two clubs play each other came on March 26 1906 when just 1,000 fans turned up in east London to watch Spurs win 1-0 in the Western League.

12: Unbeatable

Tottenham’s longest run without tasting defeat against the Hammers is nine matches, including seven wins and two draws, which came between 1903 and 1904.

11: Unbeatable II

Conversely, West Ham’s best-ever sequence of results against their north London foes lasted eight games, with two wins and six draws, between 1945 and 1949.

10: Net buster

Vivian Woodward holds the current record for the most goals scored in a game between these two London rivals. The Spurs player netted five times in his side’s resounding 10-0 home win against West Ham in the Southern Charity Cup semi-final on Jan 9 1905.

9: Hat-trick hero

The last player to score three goals in a game between these two sides was Spurs front man Gary Lineker way back on April 1 1992 in a 3-0 top-flight win at White Hart Lane.

8: Top of the pile

No player on either side has managed to find the back of the net on more occasions than legendary Spurs striker Jimmy Greaves, who scored an impressive 12 times against the Hammers for the north London club.

7: Show us your money

The highest transfer fee between the two sides is the £7 million that Tottenham splashed out to bring forward Jermain Defoe to the Lane in February 2004, although that deal did also include front man Bobby Zamora.

6: The best of enemies

The last player to move between the two London rivals was England international Scott Parker, who joined Spurs from West Ham for just £5.5m in August 2011.

5: Be careful what you eat

Perhaps the most infamous meeting between the two arch enemies came on the final day of the season on May 7 2006 when Tottenham travelled to at Upton Park in search of the win that would give them a place in the UEFA Champions League for the first time ever.

However, prior to the match a large majority of the Spurs first-team squad went down with food poisoning, leading to the north London club asking for the Premier League contest to be cancelled, a request that was denied, with the visitors going on to lose the contest 2-1.

4: Adios Senor

Ossie Ardiles’ final match in charge of Tottenham was a 3-1 win against West Ham at White Hart Lane on Oct 29 1994.

3: League Cup debut

Spurs’ first-ever League Cup tie came against the Hammers on Sept 14 1966 at Upton Park, with the home team emerging as 1-0 winners.

2: Two’s company….

The 43,332 that watched West Ham host Tottenham in the league on Oct 17 1970 is the highest-ever attendance recorded at Upton Park in the ground’s long history.

1: Tale of the Tape

In total, there have been 221 matches played in all competitions between these two fierce London rivals since 1898. Tottenham leads the way on 95 victories, while the Hammers have registered 73 wins. There have also been 53 draws between the two teams.

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