Nearly 1,000 players have pulled on a West Ham United shirt since the Club was formed as Thames Ironworks FC in 1895.

In the 123 years since, many have achieved greatness, setting outstanding personal landmarks and inspiring the Hammers to historic victories.

With thousands of goals scored and created and clean sheets kept, hundreds of matches won and a host of trophies held aloft, West Ham’s stars have shone brightly on many occasions – but whose star has shone brightest?

A panel esteemed and knowledgeable supporters, historians and former players have ranked their #50GreatestHammers of all-time, in association with Official Sleeve Partner Basset & Gold, with numbers 50 to eleven being revealed over the coming days and weeks

You, our loyal supporters, will then have the chance to rank the top ten, climaxing in the crowning of the greatest player in the Club’s long and illustrious history. Keep an eye on whufc.com and our official social channels for details of how you can cast your vote.

To kick-off the #50GreatestHammers countdown, we today reveal the players ranked 50 and 49 on our list – Bobby Zamora and Ted Hufton.

Bobby Zamora

Years at West Ham United: 2004-08

Appearances: 152

Goals: 40

Few players have scored more important goals for West Ham United than Bobby Zamora.

A lifelong Hammer born and raised in nearby Barking, Zamora joined the Hammers are a short and unfulfilling stint with Tottenham Hotspur on 2 February 2004.

A goal on debut in a Division One victory at Bradford City five days later quickly endeared the 23-year-old to his fellow fans, and he would add further important strikes against Cardiff City, Gillingham and Coventry City as West Ham sneaked into the Play-Offs, only to miss out on promotion when Crystal Palace edged them out at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.

A year later, Zamora’s three goals saw off Ipswich Town to fire the Hammers back to the same venue for a Championship Play-Off final showdown with Preston North End. Twelve minutes after half-time, the east Londoner fired his Club back to the Premier League when he converted Matty Etherington’s cross to score the only goal of the game.

The following season, 2005/06, Zamora scored in FA Cup victories over Norwich City and Blackburn Rovers to help West Ham set up a third consecutive trip to the Welsh capital, only to miss a penalty in his team’s heart-breaking shootout defeat by Liverpool in the final.

Zamora kicked-off the 2006/07 season with five goals in four Premier League matches before enduring a four-month scoring drought.

However, the goals would flow again in the spring, when the popular left-footer’s vital strikes against Blackburn, Middlesbrough, Arsenal and Everton helped Alan Curbishley’s side secure the most dramatic of escapes from relegation.

Injuries would restrict Zamora’s appearances and goals in his final season in Claret and Blue, but his hero status was already assured among the supporters he sat with as a boy.

Ted Hufton

Years at West Ham United: 1915-32

Appearances: 402

Clean Sheets: 113

Surely no player has provided West Ham United with the value the Club got from long-serving goalkeeper Ted Hufton.

Having successfully guested for the Hammers during the First World War, when he was wounded while serving in the Coldstream Guards in France, the Nottinghamshire-born stopper was signed from Sheffield United for just £350 in 1919.

Hufton was the man between the posts when West Ham kicked-off life as a Football League club on 30 August of the same year, when they secured a 1-1 draw with Lincoln City at the Boleyn Ground.

Four seasons later, in 1922/23, Hufton played all but three Second Division fixtures as the Hammers won promotion to the top flight for the first time, and all nine ties as Charlie Paynter’s side reached their maiden FA Cup final, losing to Bolton Wanderers in front of an estimated 200,000 supporters as the newly-opened Empire Stadium in Wembley.

November 1923 saw Hufton make his England debut in a 2-2 draw with Belgium in Antwerp – the first of six caps he earned for his country.

The dark-haired goalkeeper remained a fixture for the Hammers until the team was relegated at the end of the 1931/32 season. Hufton was given a free transfer and joined Watford, bringing a 17-season association with the Club to an end.

When one considers how many more goals were scored in league football prior to the Second World War, Hufton’s record of 113 clean sheets in 402 competitive appearances is one to be admired, and one which has been beaten by just two other goalkeepers in Phil Parkes and Ludek Miklosko.