A young Billy Bonds began his football journey with Charlton Athletic, where he spent 3 years from 1964 till 1967. This was followed by a move to West Ham, as manager Ron Greenwood signed the player for £50,000 in May 1967.
His first appearance for the Hammers came in a testimonial match in the same month, which was played for Ken Brown. This was followed by his league debut Sheffield Wednesday in the opening game of the 1967–68 season. From here, Bonds became a constant fixture for West Ham in the 1968–69 and 1969–70 seasons. He played astonishing consecutive league games until injury ended his run of appearances in October 1970.
The Englishman's initial years at West Ham saw him operate as a right-back, until manager Greenwood converted him to midfield in the 1970–71 season.
We will be now looking at how the rest of his career unfolded at West Ham, and how he became an all-time legend of the club.
Becoming West Ham Captain After Bobby Moore
Bonds was at his best for West Ham during the early 70's, as he led them to the 1971-72 season football League Cup semi-finals. However, they ended up losing the tie after a second replay.
The Englishman was individually outstanding for West Ham at this time, with his 13 goals making him club top scorer in the 1973–74 season. After the departure of teammate Bobby Moore in March 1974, Bonds became the new captain of West Ham.
FA Cup Glory and European Cup Winners’ Cup Final
He led the Hammers to an FA Cup final victory over Fulham in 1975 and to the final of the 1976 European Cup Winners' Cup, with the latter ending in a disappointing 4-2 loss for them. Bonds was an integral part of the team during this phase, despite carrying a groin injury that interrupted the latter half of the 1974–75 season and part of the 1975–76 season.
The midfielder went through yet another positional change after this period, as Greenwood moved Bonds from midfield to the back four as centre-half alongside Tommy Taylor before the end of the 1976–77 season.
Relegation and Another FA Cup Triumph in 1980
Bonds and West Ham suffered relegation at the end of the 1977–78 season, but they also managed to win yet another FA Cup title under his captaincy. Thus, Bonds became the only West Ham captain to lift the FA Cup on two occasions.
The 1980-81 campaign saw Bonds lead West Ham to the League Cup final ( eventually lost to Liverpool) and to promotion back to the First Division.
Retirement, Comeback and Final Game
After surpassing Bobby Moore's club record of appearances in the 1982–83 season, Bonds decided to officially retire in May 1984. He even relinquished the captaincy to Alvin Martin.
However, a series of injuries to several first-team players lead to Bonds making a heroic return to West Ham.
Although he was able to re-establish himself in the first-team in this run, a lot of his time during this second coming was highly overshadowed by injuries. A knee injury that forced him out of the last two games of the 1987–88 season eventually led to a decision to finally retire in the summer of 1988.
Bond's final game for West Ham came against Southampton in April 1988 at the age of 41 years and 226 days.
Magical influence at West Ham
Billy Bonds left West Ham after an astounding 21 year playing career with the Hammers. He made an unbelievable 799 first-team appearances for West Ham during this period.
His contributions for the club led to him being awarded West Ham United's first ever lifetime achievement award. A part of West Ham's London Stadium is named under him as well. The Englishman's legacy is bound to live forever within the club.
