THE unforgettable 60s was the decade in which West Ham United enjoyed their greatest successes. When the Hammers won the FA Cup and European Cup Winners’ Cup at Wembley in consecutive seasons during that golden era, only seven players played in both finals.
Londoner Jack Burkett was one of them – and here the popular former left-back talks candidly about those years, including what it was like playing alongside World Cup legends Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters.
Author Terry Roper, a life-long Hammers supporter, examines how West Ham stood on the edge of greatness under their visionary manager Ron Greenwood and yet, inexplicably, allowed it to pass them by. Where did it all go wrong for Jack, his team-mates and the club itself?
Evocative pictures, some from Jack’s own private collection and many previously unpublished, capture the magic of that time.
With an insightful ‘West Ham WAG’s’ contribution from Jack’s wife Ann, this book tells the fascinating story of what it was really like at Upton Park – on and off the field – in that memorable period that Hammers’ fans still talk about with great affection today.