 West Ham Utd joined the Western League for the 1901 season while also continuing to play in the Southern Division 1 . In 1907 , West Ham were crowned the Western League Division 1B Champions , and then defeated 1A champions Fulham 1 – 0 to become the Western League Overall Champions . The reborn club continued to play their games at the Memorial Grounds in Plaistow ( funded by Arnold Hills ) but moved to a pitch in the Upton Park area in the guise of the Boleyn Ground stadium in 1904 . West Ham 's first game in their new home was against fierce rivals Millwall ( themselves an Ironworks team , albeit for a rival company ) drawing a crowd of 10 @,@ 000 and with West Ham running out 3 – 0 winners , and as the Daily Mirror wrote on 2 September 1904 , " Favoured by the weather turning fine after heavy rains of the morning , West Ham United began their season most auspiciously yesterday evening ; when they beat Millwall by 3 goals to 0 on their new enclosure at Upton Park . " 
