Jim Bigden was a local lad who played his first game for West Ham at the beginning of the 1901-02 season. He played in 28 games that year and played an important role in West Ham finishing 4th with 40 points. Bigden was ever present in the 1903-04 season and managed to score goals against Brentford and Luton. Bigden only missed one game in the 1904-05 season and West Ham fans were distressed when they heard he had been sold to Arsenal. To make matters worse, Bigden, along with two other former Irons, Roderick McEachrane and Charles Satterthwaite, was in the Arsenal team that defeated West Ham in the first round of the FA Cup on 18th January, 1906.