West Ham United joint chairman David Gold has died aged 86.
Gold died after a short illness, the Premier League club said in a statement.
A lifelong West Ham fan, Mr. Gold was born in East London in 1936 and brought up in a house on Green Street, just opposite the club’s old home ground, the Boleyn Ground.
West Ham joint chairman David Sullivan said: “On behalf of everyone at the football club, it is with deep sorrow and a heavy heart that we mourn the death of our colleague and friend, David Gold.
“Of all our joint ventures, none gave us more pride and happiness than the day we took over West Ham United, our club, in January 2010.
“David had a long-standing connection with the Hammers, having grown up opposite the Boleyn Ground on Green Street and represented the club at junior level.
“He always wanted what was best for West Ham United, and his passing is a great loss to us all.”
He found fame and fortune in the business world
Mr Gold represented the West Ham boys team between the ages of 13 and 16 and later featured for the youth team.
Despite showing promise in football in his younger years, Gold would find his fame and fortune in the business world.
He was the owner of Gold Group International (GGI), the parent company of retailer Ann Summers and the Knickerbox underwear chain.
Image: David Sullivan (left) and David Gold
Mr. Gold entered football club ownership in 1996 with long-term company owner David Sullivan, buying a majority stake in Birmingham City.
The pair, alongside Karren Brady, helped turn around the then-struggling Midlands club’s fortunes, although they often found themselves at odds with the fans.
After the club suffered relegation from the Premier League to the Championship in 2008, Gold announced his intention to sell his shares in the club. The sale took place in 2009.
Buy your childhood club
A year later, in January 2010, it was announced that Mr. Gold had bought a 50% stake in West Ham with long-term business partner Mr. Sullivan.
Despite his support for the club, Mr. Gold and Mr. Sullivan had several run-ins with West Ham’s fan base, most notably over his decision to move the club from its home Boleyn Ground to the London Stadium in 2016.
Gold and Sullivan had stressed the need to move the club into state-of-the-art facilities to help propel the team towards European football.
But some of the club’s fans were upset by the decision to move the club from its 112-year-old home to a stadium that had originally been purpose-built to host track and field events at the 2012 Olympics.
Writing about the decision in his biography, David Gold: The Ultimate “Rags To Riches” Story, he admitted he was heartbroken by the decision.
“While on the one hand I was excited about the prospect of moving to the Olympic Stadium, I knew that it would mean demolishing Upton Park and the site being redeveloped into flats, which I was very concerned about,” Gold wrote .
“I also knew a lot of fans didn’t want to move, but at the end of the day we all as fans want success. We want to win the FA Cup, we want to get into Europe and challenge the best teams in the Premier League.
“We had explored all the possibilities of redeveloping Upton Park, but there were cuts and restrictions at every step. So the reality was that, to secure the commercial future of the football club, we simply had to move.”
However, fans’ initial anger at the move has subsided in recent years, particularly in light of the club’s development under current manager David Moyes.
“A source of great support”
Paying tribute to him, Moyes said: “I am very saddened to hear this news and on behalf of all the players and my staff at the training ground I would like to express our deepest condolences to David Gold’s family in this difficult moment..
Image: David Gold, co-owner of West Ham Football Club (left) with (LR) Sir Robin Wales, Mayor of Newham, David Sullivan, co-owner, Kim Bromley-Derry, chief executive of Newham and the club’s vice-chairman, Karren Brady, pose in front of the Olympic Stadium
“Mr Gold was a regular visitor to Rush Green and always a source of great support and encouragement to me and the players.
“It was clear that he had a genuine and sincere love for the Club and that he was a true fan at heart.
“He took a keen interest in the people working behind the scenes and was always willing to help in any way he could. He will be sorely missed.”
Gold had two daughters, Jacqueline and Vanessa, with his first wife, Beryl Hunt, whom he married in 1957.
The couple divorced in 1972. Although Mr Gold never remarried, he had been living with fiancée Lesley at their Surrey home since 2012.