MATT BARLOW: The amazing tale of East Ham 7 West Ham 8… as fans paid just 45p to watch George Best, Bobby Moore and Jimmy Greaves in action for 15-goal thriller in London

Terence McMillan was a Labor councillor, mayor of Newham when it was created by the merger of East and West Ham in 1965, and the modest stadium named in his honor near Canning Town hosted school sports and amateur football.

George Best was one of the most recognizable footballers in the world when he appeared there. It was a Sunday afternoon, two years after his last appearance for Manchester United and eight days before he arrived in Los Angeles to confirm he was joining the Aztecs in the NASL.

He was 29 and perhaps looking for some match practice. Although, also, he probably just agreed to help out a friend and fancied a kick and a few drinks when he agreed to pull on the East Ham United stripes.

His presence pumped up the crowd for a match against West Ham to raise money for the struggling London Spartan League club and kick off Frank Lampard’s testimonial year.

Best had only played briefly since leaving Old Trafford. There was a four-match adventure in South Africa for the Jewish Guild in Johannesburg, before turning up at Dunstable Town, where Barry Fry, an old pal from their years together in Manchester United’s youth ranks, had agreed his first managerial position.

Not only did Fry convince Tommy Docherty to release Best’s registration to play in two friendlies, but he also secured United as opponents in the first. Creasey Park was packed. Thousands more were left out as Dunstable won 3-2. Legend has it that Best returned £25 of his £200 appearance fee to help the sixth-tier team buy new nets.

Best appeared in testimonials for Jeff Astle and Peter Osgood, made a brief return to Stockport County in Division Four – four games including the friendly against Stoke arranged to help him settle in – and played three times for Cork Celtic.

“George would play for nothing,” Fry recalled. “When he was playing for Dunstable his car broke down on the way. He called Knutsford Services and said, “Baz, you’re not going to believe this…” I thought, “Here we go” because he had a reputation for not coming, but he said, “Don’t worry, I’ll do it.” jump in a taxi,” and he succeeded.

“It was George. He loved playing football and helping his friends. He was warm, generous, witty, intelligent and brilliant company.

“He stayed with me in Bedford after the match and I drove him the next day to Michael Parkinson’s where he spent time when he kept a low profile.”

Even later, when Best was in decline, struggling with alcoholism, he slammed the turnstiles. His last competitive matches on these shores came with Bournemouth in 1983. By then his determination to kick off had waned.

Diligently, they fixed signs outside Dean Court warning on the ground: “George Best is not playing today” when he failed to appear. A crowd of 4,250 saw him play for East Ham in February 1976, with entry set for 45 hours. West Ham lost at Coventry the day before, during a poor league run of form that almost landed them in relegation trouble during a season where they reached the European Cup Winners’ Cup final .

Yet no one questioned whether boss Ron Greenwood’s permission might be required. They regularly met for impromptu games in the summer near Hainault Forest before an evening at The Retreat pub. This was no different, they decided.

Bobby Moore played, FA Cup hero Alan Taylor scored three and goalkeeper Mervyn on day two as the Hammers won 8-7. Jimmy Greaves, aged 35 and then playing for Chelmsford City in the Southern League, turned up and scored a few goals. Trevor Brooking got the other.

Best moved to the United States and enjoyed his first summer with the Aztecs before returning to spend a season in Division Two with Fulham, the opposition for Lampard’s main testimonial match, in the autumn of that year.

Best and Moore both played this match for Fulham in front of 16,597 at Upton Park. By the end of the year, Best was back in the Northern Ireland team and shone against the Netherlands, Europe’s greatest team of the time, in a European Cup qualifier. world.

With the ball, 1976 was a good year for him. It all started at Terence McMillan, now home to Clapton FC of the Eastern Counties, and led to Rotterdam, where he delivered on his promise against Nutmeg’s Johan Cruyff in a 2-2 draw. Looking back at a time when Cristiano Ronaldo led a procession of post-prime footballers in Saudi Arabia, it’s impossible to shake the feeling that they simply had a little more fun playing football back then – and they really wouldn’t have exchanged it for the money.