West Ham United F.C. is a club.
West Ham United F.C. is a football club based in London . West Ham United Football Club is a professional football club based in Stratford , East London , England . The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United . The club have reached two major European finals , winning the European Cup Winners ' Cup in 1965 and finishing runners-up in the same competition in 1976 . They are one of eight clubs never to have fallen below the second tier of English football , spending 59 of 91 league seasons in the top flight , up to and including the 2016 -- 17 season .