On This Day: 2 March
Anniversary
Name: Derek Woodley
Date of birth: 2 March 1942
Clubs: West Ham United, Southend United, Charlton Athletic, Gillingham
A lightning fast winger, Derek Woodley burst into the West Ham United first team as a 17-year-old. Having appeared for England schools - scoring the fastest-ever goal at the old Wembley Stadium after just 13 seconds against Wales in 1957 - and won six England youth caps, Woodley appeared set for great things when he scored twice on his debut in a 3-1 First Division win over Luton Town in October 1959.
However the youngster, who had earned an FA Youth Cup runners-up medal with the Hammers in 1957, found his opportunities limited at the Boleyn Ground. After making 14 appearances and scoring three goals in league and cup, Woodley joined former West Ham manager Ted Fenton at Southend United in the summer of 1962.
Woodley, whose move to Roots Hall was part of a dual-player deal alongside Mick Beesley, went on to make nearly 200 appearances for the Essex club. A short spell at Charlton Athletic bisected his time with Southend before the wideman completed his career at Gillingham and non-league Folkestone.
Nicknamed 'The Fox', Woodley passed away in January 2002 at the age of 59.
Classic Match
West Ham United 1-0 1.FC Magdeburg
European Cup Winners' Cup quarter-final, first-leg
2 March 1966
West Ham United's defence of the European Cup Winners' Cup had begun with a 6-2 aggregate victory over the Greeks of Olympiakos, setting up a quarter-final tie with the East German side 1.FC Magdeburg.
Ernst Kuemmel's side were enduring a terrible season domestically and would end the campaign by being relegated to the DDR-Liga Second Division. However, in Europe, they were still going strong after beating Spora Luxembourg and Swiss outfit FC Sion. As East German Cup holders, Magdeburg would still present a stern test for Ron Greenwood's team.
With Kuemmel setting his team up to defend deep and in large numbers, the Hammers struggled to convert their chances and, by the time French referee Tricot blew the final whistle, West Ham had just Johnny Byrne's 46th-minute shot to show for their efforts.
West Ham would go on to draw 1-1 at the Ernst Grubbe stadium in the second leg, moving on to a semi-final against West Germans Borussia Dortmund. Greenwood's side would lose 5-2 on aggregate to end their defence of the trophy.