Ernie Gregory, a massive presence at West Ham for 51 years, has passed away. Ernie got his start at West Ham with the Boys setup before winning an amateur league championship with Leytonstone and beginning his professional career with the Irons in 1938. Hard as it is to imagine nowadays in the age of prima donna footballers, Ernie put his professional career on hold to serve in the Royal Air Force and then went straight back to playing for West Ham, playing for them for the next 14 years. There isn’t much Ernie didn’t do at the club having been involved as a coach for both the reserves and first team as well as lending a hand with the administration of the club. His is not a name who you often hear associated with the club but you’d have a hard time finding someone whose done more for the club. Rest in peace, Ernie.
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