A handful of iconic characters have spent the previous 35 years shining a light on a world that the majority of fans never witness. Football hooliganism was a continual plague of the English game throughout the 1970s and 1980s, and they continued to be a problem throughout those decades.
There was a renowned company that West Ham had back in the days of the terraces. Despite the fact that the Inter City Firm (ICF) has been immortalised in literary drama as well as the hoolie-lit mania of the early 2000s, the genuine human tales that lie behind the pitched conflicts and terrace punch-ups have been given a new lease of life in this age of YouTube and podcasts.
Bill Gardner, a veteran of the International Boxing Federation (ICF), considers himself to be a supporter of West Ham rather than a hooligan. However, during the height of hooliganism, he was regarded as one of the most terrifying fighters.
Gardner, who is now 70 years old, shared his experience with Tony Bellew, a former professional boxer, as part of the Gangster series conducted by BBC Radio 5 Live.
“In the past, followers of Away were subjected to attacks in virtually every region of our country. “Some locations are more deplorable than others,” Gardner stated.
Every once in a while, we (West Ham’s Inter City Firm) did well, and other times, we didn’t do so well, but they are aware, and everyone is aware, that they have never been able to beat us. I was not harmed by anyone.
I believe that I have been in over 400 battles in my life, and I have never been defeated. I have never experienced the terror that is common among people of my kind. There was never a moment when I felt threatened when I was among my friends at West Ham.
It was stated to Bellew by Gardner that his childhood was a challenging one. In addition to being beaten by his mother on a regular basis, he was four years old when his sister passed away from leukaemia. Rather than taking place on the terraces and terraced streets of English football, his most terrifying event took place in his own flat.
“One night she was having a really bad turn and she started coming through the door with a bread knife like a scene from The Shining,” he said in an interview.
I heard my father weeping. “Bill, you have to leave right away,” he told him. You are going to be killed by her.'”
After some time, Gardner was able to locate his way into the notorious firm of West Ham, where violence became a way of life. He has confessed that he feels a certain amount of affection for a football opponent who is unexpected.
“When I think of some of those games we played, I honestly believe that Millwall was the most difficult,” he said in an interview with Anything Goes in the year 2021.
When we went over there, they used to all turn out, and I have nothing but respect for them; I believe that they are all okay. There were more than 300 people on each side, if you know what I mean.
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