Clive Charles was a trailblazer, not only at West Ham United, but throughout the wider football world.
Born in Dagenham on 3 October 1951, he was one of the first Black players to represent the Hammers and made history alongside Clyde Best and Ade Coker, when West Ham became the first Football League side to field three black players in the same XI in a fixture against Tottenham Hotspur on 1 April 1972. The trio are pictured in the 1972/73 squad photo below.
What made Charles' story even more special was that he was able to join his elder brother John in leading the way for his fellow Black players at the Hammers, with his sibling having earlier become the first to wear the famous Claret and Blue shirt in a First Division match.
“Clive was a lovely little player who understood the game and went on to become a great coach at the University of Portland and with the US women’s team,” said legendary centre-forward Best, who himself moved to east London from the island of Bermuda in 1967. “He was a true Hammer and shared his knowledge with many others.”
Charles' football journey started at a young age, and he started playing for the Hammers’ youth teams at the age of 12, before he signed as an apprentice when he turned 15.
Two years later he signed as a professional, and the left-back waited patiently for his first-team debut, progressing with the reserves, where he played alongside his older brother, before making his league bow on 21 March 1972 in a 1-1 draw at Coventry City.
Charles' very next appearance would be that historic clash against Tottenham Hotspur, which helped pave the way for the many Black players who have followed in his footsteps throughout English football.
Charles may have only made 15 appearances for West Ham, the last of which came in a home game with Newcastle United in August 1973, but his impact was a significant one and his legacy lives on, 20 years after his premature death from prostate cancer in August 2003, aged just 51.
While he made history as a player at West Ham, Charles is arguably more widely remembered throughout the wider football world as a coach.
In his later career, he turned out for Cardiff City, before heading across the Atlantic Ocean, where he successfully represented NASL club Portland Timbers and both Pittsburgh Spirit and Los Angeles Lazers in indoor football.
He would then embark on a long stint coaching the University of Portland’s men’s and women’s sides, having a hand in the beginning of the career of numerous future stars, including United States men’s internationals Kasey Keller and Steve Cherundolo.
After forming part of the US men's national team coaching staff at the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, Charles would also enjoy spells with the US U20 women’s side and U23 men’s team, leading them to a fourth-place finish at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Two decades on from his death, this Black History Month we remember Clive Charles, a man who will always be a big part of West Ham United and English football history.
