West Ham legend Ludek Miklosko dies aged 64 after battle with cancer

Ludek Miklosko, one of the most beloved figures in West Ham United’s history, died aged 64 after a prolonged battle with cancer. The Czech goalkeeper, who spent eight years as the club’s first choice between 1990 and 1997, was diagnosed in 2021 after discovering a lump on his hip; the cancer later spread to his stomach, and treatment was eventually stopped.

Miklosko made 373 appearances for the Hammers during a decade that cemented his status as a cult hero at Upton Park. His popularity endures to this day through the terrace chant — “My name is Luděk Mikloško, I come from near Moscow, I play in goal for West Ham” — that rings around the stadium every matchday.

“Everyone at West Ham United is deeply saddened by the passing of Luděk Mikloško at the age of 64, following a courageous battle with cancer,” the club said in a statement on their website. “The incredible impact he had on the Club and the fondness with which he is remembered is heard every matchday, when supporters sing his iconic chant.”

Born in Prostějov, in what was then Czechoslovakia, in December 1961, Miklosko began his career as a schoolboy with Baník Ostrava before spending two years with RH Cheb on national service. He returned to Baník and went on to spend nine seasons in the Czechoslovak First League, also earning 40 caps for the national team after making his international debut in a friendly win in Denmark in 1982.

His move to West Ham came in the wake of the Velvet Revolution of 1989, which lifted restrictions on Czechs and Slovaks working abroad. Invited for a trial at a club freshly relegated to the Second Division, Miklosko signed for £300,000 — a fee that would prove one of the great bargains in the club’s history. He had to wait a further two months for the British Government to issue a work permit before moving to London in February 1990.

The impact was immediate. At the end of his first full season in 1991, he was voted Hammer of the Year and named in the PFA Second Division Team of the Year. In more recent years, Miklosko had been serving as sporting director at his former club FC Baník Ostrava, who also paid tribute on social media following the news of his passing. Despite his illness, he managed to attend several significant West Ham matches in his final years.