ClaretandHugh today takes huge pleasure in wishing the Hammers glory hero of 1964 – Mr Ronnie Boyce – the happiest 78th birthday possible.
‘Ticker’ ,as he was widely known back in those great years between 64-67, was the guy who kept the team ‘ticking’ and was responsible for goals that featured in the greatest Irons game I have ever seen.
He was not prolific but grabbed two goals at a drenched Hillsborough in the famous 3-2 FA Cup semi-final win over Manchester United before scoring with a decisive header at Wembley six weeks later.
Ticker was immense but always lived in the shadow of the Hammers big three – Mooro, Hursty and Martin. Those who saw him will remember him as an dynamo to a team which gave us the Cup and went on to win the Cup Winners Cup a year later.
Born just a short distance from the Boleyn Ground in East Ham in January 1943, Boyce joined West Ham as a schoolboy before making his first-team debut more than 60 years ago in October 1959 in a Southern Floodlight Cup win over – all teams – Millwall, when he was just 16.
A year later, aged 17, he started a First Division match for the first time as the Hammers thrashed Preston 5-2. It would not be the first time he haunted the Lancashire club, of course.
www,whufc reports that Ticker played an amazing 55 matches the following season, climaxing with those goals at Hillsborough.
He had played 341 times in Claret and Blue, scoring 29 goals. In November of the same year, he was awarded a Testimonial, which saw the Hammers thrash a Manchester United team including George Best and Bobby Charlton, 5-2 at the Boleyn Ground.
He became a key member of John Lyall’s coaching staff, helping the Hammers win two further FA Cups in 1975 and 1980, and later served as both caretaker manager and chief scout, retiring in 1995.
Thanks ‘Ticker’ for my greatest memories of this fabulous football club.
Back in the day I remember ” losing ” my 6 or 7 year old brother at a reserve game. ( I was up the West side bar!!) An announcement went over the tannoy for me to go to the players tunnel
When I got there I was let in the door by a copper and found my brother sitting on the bench next to Ronnie and having a little natter with him!!! Cant see that happening nowadays. Thanks Ticker, me mum would’ve killed me!!!
God, I remember that header. What a powerhouse he was. Blimey I’m old.
I remember it too. Might be my earliest West Ham memory. I was watching on black and white TV with my Grandad. I was 6.
I’m a Charlton fan but may i say happy birthday to ‘Ticker’ i’ve always admired the hammers especially for being there for our club when times were difficult. A big thank you, to you all 🥰
One of the best midfielders ever to wear a West Ham shirt. His distribution and reading of the game were fantastic. Surprisingly he didn’t score a lot of goals, but with Sir Geoff in front of him he didn’t need to. For me his flair made him one of the architects of the West Ham way, as it came to be called.
I remember collecting picture cards, ..here in malta and boyce featured in one pkt of 3cards, I was overjoyed. His intelligent passing and reading of the game was obvious that he could not score so many goals.
Ironic that while people in this thread rightly state that Ronnie wasn’t a prolific goalscorer, yet he scored the three goals that changed our club forever. All of us young and old owe him a great debt. Happy birthday, Ticker!
Was at both the semi-final and final in 64. ‘Ticker’ was immense in both games. Others took the headlines but Ronnie was the heartbeat of that team. If Nobby Styles hadn’t been around I reckon ‘Ticker’ would have played for England in 66.