West Ham face Burnley this Saturday, below are 10 facts about the Hammers’ opponents this weekend:
# 1 Turf Moor became the first senior football ground to be visited by a member of the Royal family when Prince Albert Victor, son of Edward VII and Grandson of Queen Victoria, watched Burnley lose 4-3 to Bolton on 13th October 1886 while in the town to open a hospital.
# 2 Burnley have played at Turf Moor since 1883, making Turf Moor the longest continuously used ground of any of the 49 teams that have played in the Premier League.
# 3 Burnley were founder members of the Football League in 1888 and have been League Champions twice, in 1920-21 and 1959-60. The 1960 title win was unique as Burnley had not occupied top spot until the final round of matches were complete.
# 4 Burnley are one of only 5 teams to have won all 4 of the English professional leagues, along with Portsmouth, Preston, Sheffield United and Wolves.
# 5 Burnley have won the FA Cup once in 1914, beating Liverpool 1-0 in the last final to be played at Crystal Palace. The game was refereed by the brilliantly named Herbert Bamford who would later go on to manage Manchester United.
# 6 Burnley’s main rivals are Blackburn Rovers, the teams contest the East Lancashire Derby or The Cotton Mills Derby. Both Blackburn and Burnley were mill towns. Both clubs were founder members of the Football League, the rivalry is not just geographic (the towns are 11 miles apart), but Blackburn objected strongly to Burnley’s use of Scottish players in the 1890’s.
# 7 Burnley have played in the European Cup, losing to German Champions SV Hamburg in the Quarter Finals in the 1960-61 season.
# 8 During the club’s golden era of the early 1960’s Burnley were seen as one of the most pioneering clubs in the country. Burnley were the first club to develop a separate training centre (most clubs trained at the stadium). The club also developed free kick and corner routines which were copied by many other teams.
# 9 One of the most famous players is Northern Irish forward Jimmy McIlroy. McIlroy played 497 games for the club through the 50’s and early 60’s, scoring 131 goals. McIlroy’s performances attracted the attention of Italian giants AC Milan, who reportedly made an attempt to sign the Northern Irishman. McIlroy turned the move down citing his wife’s reluctance to leave Lancashire, speaking about the potential move Mrs McIlroy is alleged to have said “I’m sure Milan is a beautiful place but why would we want Milan when we could have Burnley?”
# 10 West Ham have played Burnley 85 times, with 36 wins, 18 draws and 31 losses. The first game between the two sides was in November 1923, which ended in a 5-1 defeat for the Hammers. West Ham have won five of the last six meetings between the teams.
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