Nine members of West Ham United Official Supporters’ Club Mile High Hammers made the memorable trip from the US city of Denver, Colorado, to London Stadium to watch their beloved Irons secure a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion in December.
Formed in 2018, they are the only true West Ham-supporting group in Denver, and around 20 Hammers fans meet up on every matchday at The Celtic on Market to watch the game and show their support from across the Atlantic.
Here, Joint-Chair Gena Lawday tells us all about the Mile High Hammers…
Have you always been a West Ham United supporter?
Embarrassingly, no. My husband’s a lifelong supporter, having been born in Chadwell Heath. We met in London while I was visiting graduate schools, and I’ve been a West Ham fan pretty much ever since!
How did the idea of starting the Mile High Hammers come about?
My friend Russ and I came up with the idea of starting a West Ham United Supporters’ Club, and started showing up to games at a pub called the Three Lions. We then bumped into two fans (Nick and Charlie), and Charlie helped start the DC Irons, who are another big Supporters’ Club. We all sat at a table and came up with the concept, a name and wanted to combine multiple Supporters’ Clubs into one bigger one.
How did you get the name Mile High Hammers?
Denver is known as the Mile High City because we’re 5,280 feet above sea level. We were originally going to be called the Denver Irons, but we opted for Mile High Hammers instead.
How many members do you have?
We have over 40 people signed up on the portal, but we had about 50-60 people who showed up for the [UEFA Europa] Conference League final. We completely packed the pub for that. Our aim is to get to 100 members.
How do you follow the Hammers on a matchday?
My husband and I head to The Celtic for matches, which is an Irish bar we’ve been going to in Denver since the Three Lions closed down. There’s normally about 20 of us there on matchdays, which are usually early in the morning for us. We also have a text group with other Mile High Hammers where we do a lot of chatting during the match.
How much did you enjoy your visit to London Stadium for the Brighton game?
It was a brilliant day. It was great to be able to visit the home of the Hammers, thanks to the Official Supporters' Club portal. It’s great having a centralised information point at West Ham. While we were in England we also really enjoyed sightseeing and doing some shopping, just before Christmas!
What other events have your members been able to enjoy?
The Premier League Morning Live events back in the US have been great, but what has made them even better was what the Club did around it. In Nashville, Tennessee, they had Matt Jarvis and Jack Collison there, while in Tampa, Florida, we got access to the whole first-team squad and got some shirts signed. We’re a relatively small Supporters’ Group, but they treated us really well.
How can other supporters join the Mile High Hammers?
The easiest thing to do is to visit our website HERE, from where there are links to all of our different sites.
We’re on all major social media outlets such as X, BlueSky, Facebook and Instagram. If people follow us there, then they will be able to reach out and join the Mile High Hammers!
