We're counting down the #50GreatestHammers to pull on the Claret and Blue in the Club's 123-year history, in association with our Official Investment Partner, Basset & Gold.
Catch up on who was ranked from 41-50 here...
50. Bobby Zamora
Few players have scored more important goals for West Ham United than Bobby Zamora.
A lifelong Hammer born and raised in nearby Barking, Zamora joined the Hammers are a short and unfulfilling stint with Tottenham Hotspur on 2 February 2004, going on to score a winner in a Play-Off final, in FA Cup victories over Blackburn and Norwich en route to the 2006 final, and several vital goals in the Great Escape the following year.
49. Ted Hufton
Surely no player has provided West Ham United with the value the Club got from long-serving goalkeeper Ted Hufton.
Having successfully guested for the Hammers during the First World War, when he was wounded while serving in the Coldstream Guards in France, the Nottinghamshire-born stopper was signed from Sheffield United for just £350 in 1919, and he would go on to play 402 games in Claret and Blue.
48. Trevor Sinclair
Few players have made better starts to their West Ham United career than Trevor Sinclair.
The Dulwich-born winger had already made his mark with a selection of spectacular goals for Queens Park Rangers when he arrived at the Boleyn Ground in January 1998.
Sinclair announced his arrival with two goals on debut at home to Everton, before adding further strikes against Manchester United and Chelsea to help the Hammers to an eighth-place Premier League finish.
Read more about Sinclair here.
47. Clyde Best
Clyde Best was a ground-breaking figure, becoming the first black centre forward to lead the line for the Hammers, ignoring terrible racist abuse to become a true hero among West Ham supporters.
Having arrived, at the age of 17, from the island of Bermuda in the North Atlantic Ocean in 1968, Best impressed his youth-team manager John Lyall and first-team boss Ron Greenwood sufficiently to earn a professional contract the following year.
A first-team debut arrived against Arsenal in August 1969, in front of nearly 40,000 fans at the Boleyn Ground – the first of 221 appearances in a Claret and Blue shirt.
46. Ian Bishop
Born in Liverpool and signed from Manchester City, Ian Bishop did not have the typical upbringing of a West Ham United star.
The long-haired creative midfielder joined Everton at the age of 16, but failed to make the grade at Goodison Park, so tried his luck in the lower divisions with Carlisle United and AFC Bournemouth.
In the summer of 1989, he joined First Division Manchester City, but moved on to West Ham just a few months later when Lou Macari signed him in a deal that saw Trevor Morley also move to east London, with Mark Ward moving to Maine Road.
A fine passer of the ball and creator of chances, rather than scorer of goals, Bishop spent the next seven seasons as a first-team regular under three managers - Macari, Billy Bonds and Harry Redknapp.
45. Brian Dear
Brian Dear's West Ham United career may have spanned just 85 first-team appearances, but the burly centre forward certainly left his mark in Claret and Blue.
Born in West Ham in September 1943, England Schools international Dear joined the club at the age of 15, making his debut three years later against Wolverhampton Wanderers in August 1962.
The presence of Johnny Byrne and Geoff Hurst restricted Dear's appearances until the 1964/65 season, when an injury to Byrne gave him the chance to play in the European Cup Winners' Cup final victory over TSV 1860 Munich at Wembley.
Spring 1965 also saw Dear set a West Ham record that is unlikely to be broken when he scored five goals in 20 minutes in a 6-1 First Division victory over West Bromwich Albion at the Boleyn Ground.
44. Steve Lomas
Combative, uncompromising and a born leader blessed with a never-say-die attitude.
Steve Lomas was not what you might call a typical West Ham United player, but the flame-haired midfielder became a firm favourite among the Claret and Blue Army during his seven years at the club.
Born in West Germany to a British serviceman and his wife, Lomas moved to Northern Ireland at the age of two.
At 17, he signed for Manchester City and made more than 100 appearances over the next six years before moving to the Boleyn Ground for a £2.5million fee in March 1997.
43. Michael Carrick
A hugely talented passer of the ball, Tyneside-born Michael Carrick was spotted playing for Wallsend Boys Club and England Boys and invited to visit the Academy of Football.
After moving to London at the age of 16, Carrick flourished as a member of Tony Carr’s youth team, scoring twice in the 1999 FA Youth Cup final thrashing of Coventry City and winning the FA Premier Academy League in back-to-back seasons.
Aged 19, he became a regular for Harry Redknapp’s side and, such were the young midfielder’s talents that he earned his first England cap while still a teenager, appearing in a 4-0 friendly win over Mexico in May 2001. It remains a mystery how Carrick was capped just 34 times during his illustrious career.
42. Geoff Pike
A feisty, whole-hearted midfield player, Geoff Pike arrived at West Ham United after spending the early part of his career with non-league Thurrock and Gidea Park Rangers.
Pike joined West Ham in 1975, playing in that year’s FA Youth Cup final defeat by Ipswich Town before making his first-team debut against Birmingham City on 6 March 1976.
In 1980, he featured in all eight ties, starting seven, as Second Division West Ham won the FA Cup by defeating top-flight Arsenal at Wembley.
41. Scott Parker
One of just two West Ham United players to win the FWA Footballer of the Year award – the other being Bobby Moore – Scott Parker stood tall during a difficult period in the club’s recent history.
An energetic midfield player who always led by example, Parker was voted Hammer of the Year in three straight seasons from 2009-11.