Ernest Sydney "Syd" King (born Chatham

Chatham, Medway

Chatham is one of the Medway towns located within the Medway unitary authority, in North Kent, in South East England.Although the dockyard has long been closed and is now being redeveloped into a business and residential community as well as a museum featuring the famous submarine, HMS Ocelot,...

, Kent

Kent

Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

, 1873, died 1933) was a footballer and manager, and one of the most important figures in the early history of West Ham United

West Ham United F.C.

West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...

.

Playing career

He started his career as a full back with Northfleet

Gravesend & Northfleet F.C.

Ebbsfleet United Football Club is an English professional football team currently playing in the Conference National. The team plays their home matches at Stonebridge Road in Northfleet, Kent. However, the club is now looking to build a new stadium in the Ebbsfleet Valley vicinity in...

 and once scored three own-goals when playing against Swindon Town

Swindon Town F.C.

Swindon Town Football Club are a team based in Swindon, Wiltshire. Currently in League Two, Swindon have been managed by Paolo Di Canio since 23 May 2011...

.

He transferred to New Brompton

Gillingham F.C.

Gillingham Football Club is an English professional football club based in the town of Gillingham, Kent. The only Kent-based club in the Football League, they play their home matches at the Priestfield Stadium...

 in 1897 and spent two seasons there before joining Thames Ironworks

Thames Ironworks F.C.

Thames Ironworks Football Club, the club that later became West Ham United, was founded by Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Co. Ltd owner Arnold Hills and foreman Dave Taylor in 1895. Thames Ironworks took over the tenancy of The Old Castle Swifts' Hermit Road ground in Canning Town until their...

 in 1899. He was considered one of the best full backs in the Southern League

Southern Football League

The Southern League is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales...

 and "The Irons" had to immediately turn down Derby County's

Derby County F.C.

Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...

 offer for the player.

Syd' King recorded 16 appearances in their first season in the Southern League Division One

Southern Football League

The Southern League is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales...

, also making seven appearances in the FA Cup

FA Cup

The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...

 that year, an impressive run that ended in a 1-2 home defeat against arch-rivals Millwall Athletic

Millwall F.C.

Millwall Football Club is an English professional football club based in South Bermondsey, south east London, that plays in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the...

.

In 1900 he was retained as a member of the squad after the club's transition to West Ham United, and continued to play for them until 1903, recording 69 league and 7 FA Cup appearances in total.

Managerial career

At the start of his last season as a player he had been appointed club secretary, although he was already considered to be a 'manager' of the club.

On the eve of the 1904-05 season a small postcard of the team photograph was issued and featured the following text from King on its reverse endorsing Oxo:

"When training, Oxo is the only beverage used by our team and all speak of the supreme strength and power of endurance which they have derived from its use." - E. S. King, Secretary, West Ham United F.C.

His tenure at West Ham included their election to the football league in 1919,
which coincided with a personal cheque from the board for £1,500 that paid tribute to his twenty years of service for the club. His basic wage was also raised to £10 a week.

February 1922 saw the controversial sale of West Ham legend Syd Puddefoot

Syd Puddefoot

Sydney Charles Puddefoot was a footballer who played as a forward for West Ham United...

 to Falkirk

Falkirk F.C.

Falkirk Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Falkirk. It is one of two professional football teams from the town, the other being East Stirlingshire...

 for a record £5,000. For negotiating the transfer, Syd King received a £300 bonus. By this time he was also on a £100 annual bonus.

The following season West Ham reached the FA Cup Final for the first time, losing to Bolton Wanderers but also assured their place in the top division finishing as Division Two runners up. An edition of local newspaper East Ham Echo proclaimed at the time that:

"West Ham is Syd King."

Following promotion Syd King instilled a period of consolidation for West Ham in the First Division, the highlight of which was the 1926-1927 season when West Ham finished in 6th place in Division One. This performance was not equalled by the Hammers until the 1958-1959 season during Ted Fenton's

Ted Fenton

Edward "Ted" Fenton was manager of English football club West Ham United between 1950 and 1961.- West Ham United :...

 tenure. Part of the reason that this consistency was possible, was due to Syd King signing players that went on to become West Ham legends and record holders, as well as England internationals, including Jimmy Ruffell

Jimmy Ruffell

Jimmy Ruffell was an English footballer who played for West Ham United.Ruffell was born in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, but moved south at an early age...

, Ted Hufton

Ted Hufton

Arthur Edward Hufton , better known as Ted Hufton, was an England international goalkeeper who earned six caps for his country....

 & Vic Watson

Vic Watson

Victor Martin Watson was an English footballer who played most of his club football for West Ham United....

.

Syd King was appointed a shareholder of West Ham United in 1931, but the team was relegated in the 1931-32 season back to Division Two. On 5 November 1932 West Ham lost their ninth game of the next season, against Bradford Park Avenue, and at the same day's board meeting, according to one board member, "during the discussion on the team, (King) was "drunk and insubordinate." It was no secret that King "liked a drink", but he already been appeased by the board many times over the issue. On the following day they announced that:

"It was unanimously decided that until further notice C. Paynter be given sole control of players and that E. S. King be notified accordingly."

It was also postulated by the board, but never confirmed, that King had been syphoning off West Ham funds for himself. He was suspended for three months without pay and also banned from entering the Boleyn Ground

Boleyn Ground

The Boleyn Ground, more commonly referred to as Upton Park due to its location in Upton Park, London is the football stadium of West Ham United.-History:...

. Following a board meeting on 3 January 1933 his contract was terminated permanently, and he was given an ex-gratia payment of £3 a week.

Death

Although comparatively rich for an ex-player working in football, King's reputation as well as his career were in tatters. Within a month of the sacking he committed suicide by drinking alcohol mixed with a corrosive liquid.

The inquest into his death declared that he had taken his life 'while of unsound mind', and had been suffering from persecution delusions. According to his son at the inquest, his depression had begun when the team were relegated in the summer of 1932, and that his paranoia had followed on from that.