Anniversary (1)
Name: David Baillie
Born: Ilford, 6 June 1905
Clubs: Croydon, West Ham United, Chester City
Former Hammers goalkeeper David Baillie was born on this day in 1905 - the same year West Ham United moved to the Boleyn Ground.
Born in Ilford, Baillie began his career with non-league Croydon before signing for West Ham in 1925. He remained with West Ham for six seasons but made only 17 appearances in all competitions - 16 in Division One and one in the FA Cup - and was mainly used as an understudy to first-choice goalkeeper Ted Hufton.
Baillie made his Hammers debut in a 3-2 home Division One defeat by Huddersfield Town on 28 November 1925. Undoubtedly his best moment in a West Ham shirt occurred on 7 March 1927, when he was part of the team that thrashed Arsenal 7-0 at the Boleyn Ground. Amazingly, he then conceded seven in a 7-0 Division One defeat at Everton on 27 October of the same year.
With goals flying in all over the place during the 1920s, Baillie was involved in some high-scoring matches during his time at West Ham, including a 5-4 home defeat by Middlesbrough on 26 November 1927 and 4-3 home win over Blackburn Rovers on 31 March 1928.
Baillie moved to Chester in 1929 before returning to the Boleyn Ground to take up the role of assistant groundsman. He died at the age of 62 in 1967.
Anniversary (2)
Scott Parker completed a £7m transfer from Newcastle United to West Ham United on this day in 2007.
The former Charlton Athletic, Norwich City and Chelsea midfielder was already a full England international when he joined the Hammers and expectations were high that Parker would help the Hammers to kick on following their dramatic escape from relegation the previous season.
Unfortunately, Parker suffered an injury during pre-season and did not make his debut until late September, only to suffer another injury on his comeback and be ruled out until late November. From then on, 'Scotty' became a true fans' favourite due to his never-say-die attitude, outstanding tackling and the odd spectacular goal.
Parker's form saw him win the Hammer of the Year award in three consecutive years between 2009 and 2011, while his game undoubtedly played a massive part in West Ham beating the drop in 2010. Despite his best efforts, the Hammers were relegated in 2011 and Parker was sold to Tottenham Hotspur for a reported £5.5m in August of the same year.