WHZ View: Billy Bonds – a West Ham great, an icon, a legend
Yesterday marked two years since West Ham unveiled the Billy Bonds stand at the London Stadium to cement his legacy at the club.
Bonds made 799 appearances for the Hammers, scoring 61 goals in his 27 years in claret and blue. The defender also spent four years managing the club between 1990 and 1994 – he truly is an icon in the east end.
It was a special day at the London Stadium, as the Hammers ran out 2-0 winners over Newcastle to mark the occasion. Bonds is in elite company. The only other players to have the same honour are Sir Trevor Brooking and the late Bobby Moore.
As yesterday was the anniversary, West Ham Zone have looked back on the key moments in Bonds’ career that make him such a legend at the club.
Hammer of the Year x4
Bonds was the winner of the illustrious award four times over his career with us.
His first came in the 1971 campaign, before winning back-to-back awards in 1974 and 1975. These were significant because he’d taken over the armband from Bobby Moore who had left the club, arguably the biggest shoes to fill on our history.
His fourth and final acclaim came 12 years after his third. Bonds won the prize again in 1987 towards the end of his career, ageing like a fine wine. He’d retired in 1984, but due to an injury crisis, he came back in August of the same year and continued to play. He retired finally after his fourth Hammer of the Year win.
Two FA Cups
We have won the FA Cup three times in our history. Two of those occasions came in 1975 and 1980, and both times we were captained by Bonds.
He took over the armband from Moore in March 1974. Just over a year later, he was leading us to a 2-0 victory against Fulham in the final.
Five years later we returned to Wembley. Bonds lifted the trophy as Brooking scored that famous diving header in the 1-0 victory over Arsenal.
Lifetime Achievement Award winner
Bonds became the first winner of the West Ham Lifetime Achievement Award at the end of the 2012/13 league season.
Recognised for his time with us as player and manager, Bonds was a fitting recipient for the first-ever honour. After all, as well as his record number of appearances, he got us promoted in 1991 and again in 1993 as a manager.
Since this, Sir Geoff Hurst, Martin Peters, Ken Brown, Moore and Brooking have all received the award. Elite company indeed.
In other West Ham news, here is a look back at our classic encounter with Leeds United.