Days of Iron. The story of West Ham United in the FiftiesIn 1958, West Ham United emerged from a 26 year hibernation outside top flight football winning the Second Division championship with 101 points. This is the story of how this was achieved starting with the foundation in the early 50's. Throughout a decade when the East End of London still struggled to shrug off the cloak of World War II, the West Ham manager built a formidable team. From 1956 to 1959 West Ham United fielded six full internationals.