The East London Derby vs Millwall
The Dockers Derby: a fierce East London rivalry spanning over a century.
The football rivalry between Millwall and West Ham United is one of the longest-standing in English football. The two teams, then known as Millwall Athletic and Thames Ironworks, were founded less than three miles apart - Millwall on the Isle of Dogs, in the East End of London, and Thames Ironworks in Canning Town, East London, then part of Essex. They first played each other in the 1899–1900 FA Cup. The match was historically known as the Dockers Derby, as both sets of supporters were predominantly dockworkers at shipyards on the River Thames. Consequently, each set of fans worked for rival firms who were competing for the same business; this intensified the tension between the teams.
Quick Facts
- Millwall home
- The Den, Bermondsey (current ground opened 1993; previous Den on same site opened 1910)
Lore & Background
In 1904, West Ham moved to the Boleyn Ground, more often referred to as Upton Park, which was in Essex until a London boundary change in 1965. In 1910, Millwall moved across the River Thames to New Cross in South East London and the teams were no longer East London neighbours. Both sides have relocated since, but remain just under four miles apart. Millwall moved to The Den in Bermondsey in 1993 and West Ham to the London Stadium in Stratford in 2016.
The rivalry between the teams is deeply embedded in British football hooliganism lore and culture, and has been depicted in books and films that focus specifically on the animosity between the clubs' two hooligan firms, the Inter City Firm or the Mile End Boys and the Millwall Bushwackers. Violence has occurred sporadically between the fans, resulting in the death of a Millwall supporter in 1976, and the murder of a West Ham fan in 1986. Most recently in the 2009 Upton Park riot, widespread disorder between supporters in and around West Ham's Upton Park ground led to numerous injuries and a Millwall fan being stabbed before the match began.
Reader's Guide
Millwall and West Ham have played each other 99 times competitively: Millwall have won 38, West Ham 34 and 27 have ended in a draw. Before the First World War the teams met 60 times in just 16 years, mostly in the Southern and Western Football Leagues. They have played a total of 39 times in league and cup competitions since 1916. The teams have usually competed in different divisions, spending only 13 seasons in the same tier of the Football League. Even so, the derbies have retained their passion and both sets of supporters still consider the other club their main rival. They last played against each other in the 2011–12 Championship. As of the 2026–27 season, Millwall and West Ham will both play in the Championship and meet for the first time in 14 years.
Did You Know?
- The first competitive fixture between the teams was a Fifth Round qualifying match in the FA Cup on 9 December 1899, which Millwall Athletic won 2–1.
- Millwall were unbeaten in 12 consecutive games against West Ham between 1901 and 1904, including a 7–1 win on 2 April 1903, the largest winning margin between the teams.
- The last East London derby between the teams was at Millwall's North Greenwich ground on 24 September 1910; West Ham won 2–0.
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