West Ham United’s Top 10 Goalscorers Of All Time
6. Johnny Byrne [Goals- 108, Apps- 206]
Johnny Byrne joined West Ham United from Crystal Palace in 1962. He quickly became an integral part of the team. In the 1963–64 season, he beat Bobby Moore to the “Hammer of the Year” award for the season, as West Ham won the FA Cup. Byrne had amassed 33 goals from 45 games in all competitions for this season overtaking Hurst as top goalscorer.
In Europe West Ham competed in the 1964–65 European Cup Winners’ Cup. Byrne scored in the first round against La Gantoise, the third round against Lausanne and a goal in the semi-finals against Real Zaragoza. Unfortunately, for Byrne, he was injured and did not play in the final against Munich 1860 at Wembley Stadium which West Ham won 2–0.
After spending five years with the club, Byrne left West Ham in February 1967.
5. Tony Cottee [Goals-146, Apps-336]
He was a prolific goalscorer especially in his days, Cottee began his career at West Ham. He established himself in the first team during the 1983–84 season and scored 15 times in the league. Cottee did even better in 1984–85 when he scored 17 First Division goals. By the age of 20, he had already managed an impressive 37 league goals.
Cottee was voted the PFA Young Player of the Year in 1986, the year where West Ham finished third and came just four points away from the title. He scored 20 times in the league during that season.
In 1988 Cottee briefly became the most expensive player to be signed by a British club when he joined Everton in a £2.2 million deal.
4. Jimmy Ruffell [Goals-166, Apps-548]
Ruffell was signed by West Ham United in March 1920, and he made his debut against Port Vale the following year and went on to make 548 senior appearances for the Hammers, a record that wasn’t beaten until Bobby Moore surpassed it in 1973. He scored a total of 166 goals, placing him above many of West Ham’s finest strikers in the club’s records, and was the club’s top scorer for the 1927-28 and 1934-35 seasons.
In 1923, he was part of the team that contested the first FA Cup Final to be staged at Wembley Stadium, known as The White Horse Final. However, they were beaten by Bolton Wanderers 2-0 in the final. After 17 years with West Ham, Ruffell left the east London club in 1937.