19 May 1965 - Sealey Seals The Win

On 19 May 1965, West Ham became only the second British team to claim a European trophy, defeating 1860 Munich in the Cup Winners' Cup Final.

Played before a crowd of 98,000 at Wembley, the match was widely regarded at the time as one of the greatest European cup finals in history. With both teams adopting a fast-paced attacking style, only brilliant play from the two goalkeepers--West Ham's Jim Standen and 1860 Munich's Petar Radenković--kept the two sides scoreless in the first half.

Hammers midfielder Ron Boyce sparked the opening goal in the 70th minute when he intercepted a German pass on the edge of the center circle, dribbled up the pitch and played a through ball to midfielder Alan Sealey. Sealey beat Radenković at the near post by slamming the ball over his head into the top of the net. Two minutes later, Sealey scored again as Radenković failed to collect a cross from Bobby Moore, allowing Sealey to knock it over the line.

The match ended as a 2-0 win for West Ham, coming five years after Rangers won the same tournament. They returned to the Final in 1978, but lost to Anderlecht.