Why Do West Ham And Millwall Hate Each Other?
On Saturday lunchtime West Ham return to Millwall, some fifteen years since they last visited. With the media building up the game, which will be televised live on terrestrial television, many are asking the genuine question, why is there such rivalry between both clubs?
The roots of the Dockers Derby go all the way back to the late 19th century, when both clubs weren’t football institutions yet they were works teams. Millwall were born on the Isle of Dogs, formed by factory workers at J.T. Morton’s. West Ham came from the Thames Ironworks shipbuilding company.
Same industry. Same docks. Same workforce. Same pride. And that’s exactly why they hated each other.
How The West Ham And Millwall Rivalry Began
The rivalry wasn’t about football at first it was about jobs, contracts, and who got the work. When the docks went quiet, families suffered. When one company undercut another, livelihoods were on the line. That tension spilled into football, and once it did, it never left.
As both clubs moved, grew, and changed, the rivalry morphed into something darker and more infamous.
However, there’s been no shortage of crossover between the two clubs over the years.
Terry Hurlock, a Millwall cult hero and Hall of Famer, actually began his footballing life in West Ham’s youth ranks.
While our own club legend, Billy Bonds, took charge of the South London side in 1997/98, leaving them 18th in the table.
Steve Lomas also took the job there, lasting just six months in 2013, six wins from 24 sealed his fate.
Tony Cottee made a brief two-game cameo for Millwall in 2001, while Clive Allen joined them after leaving West Ham in 1994, playing 12 games without scoring.
David Martin, son of Alvin, also spent time between the sticks for both clubs, and Glen Johnson had a short loan spell in 2002, featuring eight times.
One man who truly delivered for both sides was Teddy Sheringham, 93 goals in 220 games for Millwall, then many years later adding another 28 goals in two seasons for West Ham.
Hammers legend Billy Bonds has a history at both football clubs
Millwall Hold The Head-To-Head Advantage
I’ve watched plenty of clashes between the two sides over the years, and the atmosphere has always been tense, hostile, heavily policed, the whole lot. That edge has only been cranked up further by various films that lean into the rivalry and amplify it even more.
On paper, and I guess I’m biased, West Ham are the bigger club but the head-to-head numbers tell a more complicated story.
| West Ham v Millwall | Total |
|---|---|
| Games played | 99 |
| West Ham wins | 34 |
| Millwall wins | 38 |
| Draws | 27 |
Millwall have the edge, and they cling to it like it’s silverware. For them, beating West Ham is a trophy. For us, it’s just one of those fixtures you want to win because losing to them is unthinkable.
But context matters as most of these games have been played when both clubs were bouncing around the lower divisions. During our time in the Premier League the fixture faded and Tottenham Hotspur became the focus for many of us, but the hatred for Millwall didn’t.
West Ham Return To The Den
On Saturday form will likely go out the window, albeit we occupy top spot, it won’t matter, the game will be a scrap.
West Ham should win, and must win, but the Dockers Derby has a nasty habit of ignoring logic. Millwall raise their game. Their fans treat it like a cup final.
The Hammers have already been warned to expect a “proper intimidating” atmosphere at The Den this weekend.
Unfortunately, club legend Tomas Soucek has already been targeted by an alleged Millwall supporter who posted a video threatening the Czech international should he turn up at The Den this weekend.
Our away allocation of 1,744 has sold out. Let’s just hope the focus stays on the pitch rather than off it.
COYI!
I do not think the current rivalry between the two sets of supporters has anything to do with old dockers or the general strike but more to do with what happened when the two sets of supporters met up on Whitechapel underground station while they were returning from different away games in London.
A lot of the current supporters were not even born at the time yet the rivalry continues
I was always heard that Millwall dockers were scabs in 1926 industrial action when they refused to strike which enraged the West Ham shipbuilders who did. However I’m not sure if that’s just a myth or actually happened. All adds to the spice though.
I was at the 1972…. “Friendly”…. and only saw 2 of the goals.
It was scary enough on the tube going down, felt like the carriages were bouncing, but once at the ground, anyone with any sense had to watch out for meat hooks flying around.
That was the first and last time I went to a game at Millwall, call me a coward, but that was definitely intimidating
I had hoped this tribal nonsense was all in the past. The media and some Millwall players are trying to stir up trouble which is all we need. The FA would love to have an excuse to dock us points after failing in their bid to convict Paqueta.
D, that was my understanding, strikebreaking. That said, it’s likely that many fans on both sides mayn’t even know of the origins. It’s simply enough that a fierce rivalry exists. Much the same, as some Scottish pundits remark, that the sectarian oppositions in Glasgow are largely ignored in general day to day life and only really surface in the football context of the Old Firm.
Err
West Ham v Millwall
West Ham won 19 lost 22 drawn 19
The data is from Wikipedia and I believe goes back to 1899 when West Ham were known as Thames Ironworks, hence why a total of 99 games.
I thought it started during the general strike in 1927 when the west ham docks came out on strike and the millwalls docks blacklegged and carried on working
While there was a massive Britain wide general strike in 1926 it’s only according to popular legend that Millwall scabbed on the strike, and there is no actual evidence of this. Indeed in 1926 there were no rival docks and all the main docks were taken under the single management of the Port of London Authority in 1909. All before my time – yet interesting none the less!
That’s wot I thought,Scabs
I’m sure you are right that the docks always had a rivalry, but my family always told me that the hatred came during the General Strike of the 1930’s when Millwall docks broke the strike and went back to work. Football wise West Ham’s biggest rival has always been Spurs, we went many years without even playing Millwall and I think they are more enthusiastic about it than us.