Mahatma Gandhi was a West Ham fan
West Ham have got a list of famous supporters from actor Danny Dyer to the always outspoken Russell Brand but this one might just take the cake.
According to Benjamin Roberts’ book ‘Bottles – English Football’s Boozy Story’ (via Daily Star), Indian activist Mahatma Gandhi was known to be a West Ham fan too.
The famous figure, who played a leading role in India gaining independence from Britain in 1947, supposedly struck u a friendship with Irons club founder Arnold Hills while he was in the UK studying.
When Hills founded the football club, Gandhi would often go to matches and even head to the Boleyn Tavern pub outside the ground where he would drink with his fellow Hammers fans.
Gandhi was a big football fan and helped to found three South African football clubs during the early 1900s which he all named ‘Passive Resistors Soccer Club’.
Beat that
You will struggle to find any Premier League club, past or present, that have a more famous supporter than our Mahatma Gandhi.
It would be a bit like finding out that Greta Thunberg was an avid game-goer at Norwich City.
The late 19th century sounds like it would have been a wonderful time to be a Hammers fan and it’s a real shame we can’t time travel to experience that.
Ambling into the Boleyn Tavern hours prior to kick-off to see Gandhi on the oche, throwing for the bullseye with a cream soda in his hand.
Alright, maybe he didn’t play darts but it would certainly be an amusing vision to walk into.
Brand and Dyer, among other celebrity West Ham fans, will have to surrender their bid to be the most famous fan of the Cockney Boys unless one of them also frees a country from the tyranny of another.
In other West Ham news, Tony Cottee was enraged at the referee during last night’s 1-1 draw against Lyon in the Europa League.
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