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    Billy Bonds dies aged 79: Remembering “inspirational, lion-hearted” West Ham legend


    West Ham United legend Billy Bonds has died at the age of 79, a statement from his family has confirmed.

    Bonds, who passed away peacefully on Sunday morning, was the longest-serving player in Hammers history, making a club-record 799 appearances during a memorable 21-year career between 1967 and 1988.

    He won two FA Cups and a Second Division title with West Ham, and was also a runner-up in the 1975-76 European Cup Winners’ Cup final, before hanging up his boost at the age of 41.

    After working as a coach with the Hammers, Bonds became their first-team manager in 1990, leading the club to the First Division title in 1991 and, following relegation in 1992, back into the Premier League in 1993.

    Bonds, who departed West Ham in 1994 after 27 years at Upton Park, was voted the club’s greatest player in 2018 and a stand was named in his honour at the London Stadium the following year.

    “Our courageous, inspirational, lion-hearted leader” – West Ham legend Billy Bonds dies aged 79

    A statement from Bonds’s family read: “We are heartbroken to announce that we lost our beloved Dad today. He was devoted to his family and was the most kind, loyal, selfless, and loving person.

    “Dad loved West Ham United and its wonderful supporters with all his heart and treasured every moment of his time at the club.

    “He will always be in our hearts and eternally missed. We take comfort knowing that his legacy will live on forever.”

    West Ham added: “An extremely private and loyal man, Billy was completely devoted to his family – wife Marilyn, who sadly passed away in 2020, daughters Claire and Katie, and grand-daughters Eloise and Elissa.

    “Never one to crave the limelight, he was universally loved, respected and admired by his team-mates, players and supporters, who will forever consider themselves ‘Billy Bonds’ Claret and Blue Army’.

    “The thoughts and sincere condolences of everyone at West Ham United are with Claire, Katie, Eloise and Elissa as they come to terms with their loss, and we kindly ask that the family’s privacy is respected at this sad and difficult time.

    “Rest in peace Billy, our courageous, inspirational, lion-hearted leader.”

    “West Ham’s biggest legend, the best captain they’ve had… a sad day for everyone”

    Tributes have poured in for Bonds, including one from his first professional Charlton, who he played for between 1965 and 1967.

    The Addicks posted on X: “We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of former player Billy Bonds MBE. Our thoughts are with Billy’s family and friends at this extremely difficult time.”

    Former West Ham striker Tony Cottee also took to X to pay tribute to Bonds, and posted: “Can’t believe the news about Bonzo… One of my heroes growing up and I then had the pleasure of playing with him.

    “An incredible footballer, leader and captain but above all else a very humble and fantastic person. RIP Bill. I will miss you mate.”

    Another former West Ham player, Don Hutchison, said: “What a man. An absolute rock. I Had the pleasure of meeting him at Chadwell Heath a few times – such a nice man. Also, what a player.”

    TNT Sports pundit and ex-Hammer Joe Cole said: “Billy Bonds was manager when I signed as a kid. He was really kind to me and my family.

    “Growing up at West Ham and knowing his name is synonymous with the club… everything that’s good about West Ham, Billy Bonds, that’s him. It’s really sad news and thoughts and prayers are with his family.”

    Former Premier League striker Peter Crouch added: “I had the pleasure of meeting him a few times as well. A great man, obviously he was a legend at West Ham, and all West Ham supporters will be grateful for the job he did for the club. But first and foremost, he was just a great person.”

    West Ham’s current captain Jarrod Bowen spoke to Sky Sports before Sunday’s Premier League home clash with Liverpool, and said: “I think you can see the reaction, what he meant to this club and achieved for this club. It’s a sad day for everyone. Our condolences go to his family.

    “He’s going to go down as West Ham’s biggest legend, the best captain they’ve had. I’ll never emulate that success but to put on that captain’s armband is a big thing for me as well.”

    © Imago / Colorsport

    Remembering West Ham legend Billy Bonds

    William Arthur Bonds was born in Woolwich, South East London, with his football-loving father Arthur – a London Transport mechanic – and mother Barbara watching Charlton Athletic just hours before the arrival of their first child.

    Bonds, who first went to King’s Park and then Middle Park Junior School, sharpened his skills on the estate and local streets before progressing to represent both the Woolwich District and Kent Schools.

    Contributing a weekly tanner (two-and-a-half pence) in subs, Bonds also enjoyed success playing for the Sunday morning outfit Moatbridge, and his first brush with West Ham came in 1960, when Bobby Moore – another club icon who was his predecessor as captain – and wife Tina presented the winners’ trophies to the Moatbridge youngsters.

    “I’d been in awe of Bobby since I’d met him as a 14-year-old kid,” Bonds later revealed. “Our coach – Mr Flowers – arranged for a surprise guest to present the medals in our local school hall.

    “This good-looking lad turned up with his wife-to-be and they watched us from the stage, while we did some skills and drills on the floor below. Being a Charlton fan, I knew that the blond, well-built fella sitting up there was a West Ham player but I didn’t really know any more than that.

    “Even then, it was obvious that Bobby had something about him and it’s unbelievable that we ended up playing in the same side just seven years later!”

    Beginnings at Charlton and arrival at West Ham

    Bonds left school at the age of 15 with few academic qualifications and, at his father Arthur’s insistence, began working life at a local ship propeller factory, earning £2.50 per week.

    However, within the space of just two months, Arthur relented and Bonds soon found himself cycling to The Valley. Following a conversation with Charlton manager Frank Hill, Bonds worked at the club cleaning boots, drying kits and boosting his small wage with any loose coins he discovered while sweeping the terraces.

    “Those few months of factory work were crucial in turning me into a professional footballer,” Bonds admitted. “It was the gee-up I needed – no way was I ever going back to that workbench.”

    Bonds was soon lacing up his football boosts and after working his way through the club’s youth ranks, he made his first-team debut for Charlton in a second-tier home clash against Northampton Town (1-1) in February 1965.

    Bonds went on to make 95 senior appearances for the Addicks before joining Ron Greenwood’s West Ham in a £47,500 transfer on the final day of the 1966-67 season.

    In August 1967, Bonds met his future wife Lyn for the first time, and just six days later, he concluded a memorable week by making the first of his 799 first-team appearances for West Ham on the opening weekend of the 1967-68 season, lining up as right-back in a 3-2 home defeat to Sheffield Wednesday.

    © Imago / Action Plus

    Bonds was brushing shoulders with England’s 1966 World Cup heroes Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters at West Ham, and was soon joined in the first team by academy graduate Trevor Brooking, who went on to become a club legend and develop a long-lasting friendship with Bonds.

    Nicknamed ‘Bill’ or ‘Bonzo’ by West Ham players and fans – but known as ‘William’ by Greenwood – Bonds was married to Lyn by the time the 1971-72 campaign arrived, with his future assistant coach – Harry Redknapp – serving as Best Man at their wedding.

    Bonds soon suffered disappointment after West Ham lost to eventual winners Stoke City in the 1972 League Cup semi-finals, before a positional change from full-back to midfield enabled him to strut is stuff in the middle of the park alongside Brooking.

    He was subsequently voted Hammer of the Year for the second time in 1973-74 after scoring a career-best 13 goals, including a perfect hat-trick – left foot, right foot and header – in a 3-0 home win over London rivals Chelsea.

    Bonzo’s first FA Cup triumph against Moore’s Fulham

    Following Moore’s transfer to Fulham in March 1974, Bonds was appointed West Ham captain, and in an uncanny twists of fate that football so often delivers, Bonzo was soon shaking hands with Moore when West Ham faced the Cottagers at Wembley in the 1975 FA Cup final.

    Bonds endured an injury-plagued 1974-75 season, but he was fit to play in the showpiece which West Ham won by a 2-0 scoreline, with the Hammers lifting the prestigious FA Cup trophy for the second time in their history.

    “I’d tried resting, I’d seen specialists who wanted to operate, had cortisone injections and taken some horrible-tasting painkillers to get me through our earlier ties and it was still touch and go whether I’d play against Fulham in the final,” Bonds revealed

    “I warned (manager) John Lyall: ‘I’m only 75% fit.’ But he replied: ‘Bill, just get out there and go for it.’ Thankfully, I got through my first-ever Wembley final and Alan Taylor’s two goals meant that I finally got to lift a trophy for the Hammers.

    “It was also a great afternoon for my dad, who’d been a big part of my life both in terms of football and how he’d brought me up. By now, Arthur had a window-cleaning round and you could see the spring in his step on the Monday morning as he walked off with his ladders knowing that I now had an FA Cup winner’s medal in my pocket.”

    European experience, top-flight relegation, and more FA Cup glory

    Boasting back-to-back Hammer-of-the-Year awards, Bonds also enjoyed a taste of European football at West Ham, who returned to European Cup Winners’ Cup action for the first time since Moore had lifted the trophy a decade earlier.

    Under Lyall, the Hammers beat Reipas Lahden, Ararat Erevan, FC Den Haag, and Eintracht Frankfurt en route to the final, where they suffered a 4-2 defeat to Belgian outfit Anderlecht at Heysel Stadium in Brussels.

    “We’d opened the door to Europe and with our fantastic crowd behind us, always felt we’d chances under those Upton Park lights,” said Bonds. “It was unfortunate that the final eventually went against us but those European nights left us all with some fantastic memories.”

    After a couple of campaigns flirting with top-flight relegation, West Ham eventually suffered the drop in 1978, but the club’s board stood by Lyall and the likes of Bonds, who remained loyal to the Hammers and were as determined as ever to return to the top tier.

    West Ham were unable to secure promotion in their first two attempts in 1978-79 and 1979-80. Still, their FA Cup triumph over Arsenal offered real respite, as Bonzo and co lifted their second FA Cup in the shadows of Wembley’s famous twin towers.

    “The gods really were with me and I was so lucky to be able to face Arsenal. That 1980 team was the best side I ever played in,” said Bonds, who is the last West Ham captain to date to life the FA Cup.

    It was then third time lucky for West Ham in the second tier the following year, as they secured promotion as champions of Division Two with a record-breaking points tally of 66 (under the old two-points-for-a-win system), losing just four games in the process.

    © Imago / Propaganda Photo

    Bonds did not make a single international appearance for England

    West Ham’s demanding season saw them reach the European Cup Winners’ Cup quarter-finals, and fall short twice against Liverpool at Wembley, losing 1-0 to in the FA Charity Shield, before drawing 1-1 in the League Cup final, with the Reds winning the replay 2-1 at Villa Park.

    Bonds was performing well enough to be in the conversation for a deserved England call-up, and his former Hammers boss Ron Greenwood intended to hand the midfielder his senior debut against the mighty Brazil in May 1981.

    However, an accidental collision with West Ham goalkeeper Phil Parkes in their final match of season saw Bonzo forced to withdraw from the Three Lions squad with broken ribs, and Bonds never made a single international appearance during his illustrious career.

    With West Ham established back in the top flight, Bonds decided to call time on his playing career in 1984, but against all odds, Bonzo defied fitness and injury concerns to answer the call of Lyall’s injury-hit Hammers and represent the club another 74 times across four seasons.

    “I’d have to set Billy apart from most of the other players I worked with,” Lyall later wrote in his autobiography ‘Just Like My Dreams’. “In terms of athleticism he was phenomenal and within football circles his fitness was legendary.

    “He was one of West Ham’s all-time greats – his competitive instinct made him an inspiring captain and he became very influential in the careers of the younger players around him.”

    © Imago / Action Plus

    Billy Bonds: Player, manager, legend at West Ham

    At the age of 41 years and 226 days – the oldest-ever West Ham player – four-time Player of the Year Bonds made his 799th and final appearance for the Hammers in a 2-1 defeat to Southampton in April 1998, four months after he was awarded an MBE.

    A Professional Footballers’ Association Merit Award soon followed for Bonds, who became West Ham’s youth team manager before being promoted to first-team boss following Lou Macari’s resignation in February 1990.

    West Ham’s seventh permanent manager in history, Bonds took over a Hammers side competing in the second tier and steered the club to promotion in his first full season in charge in 1991, the same year they lost to Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup semi-finals.

    The Hammers soon developed a yo-yo habit between the top two divisions, with relegation in 1992 followed by promotion to the newly-formed Premier League in 1993, with Bonds working alongside his new assistant Harry Redknapp.

    West Ham finished 13th in their first season as a Premier League club under Bonds, who went on to manage his beloved Hammers in 237 games before resigning a few days before the beginning of the 1994-95 season.

    In addition, Bonds was immortalised at London Stadium when the former East Stand was re-named in his honour, and he will forever be remembered as a “courageous, inspirational, lion-hearted leader” at West Ham.





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