West Ham relegation creates piece of English football history not seen in 138 years

West Ham's relegation from the Premier League has created a mind-blowing scenario never seen in the top flight of English football.

The Hammers dropped out of the top flight despite their 3-0 win against Leeds.

Nuno Espirito Santo's side struggled around the drop zone for much of the campaign, and entered the final day knowing that they had to beat Leeds while hoping Tottenham suffered defeat to Everton.

Sadly for them, Spurs managed to do their job at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and secure a 1-0 win to save themselves from relegation.

They will now play Championship football for the first time since 2012.

The full-time whistle goes at the London Stadium as West Ham await their fate...🫣 pic.twitter.com/pdRS0E2wnt

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 24, 2026

Far more importantly, their relegation means that next season will be the first time in English top division history that no participating club's name begins with the letter W.

West Ham and Wolves have both dropped down to the Championship, where they will play against former Premier League club West Brom.

Both Wolves and West Brom were founder members of the Football League but were both relegated by 1906.

That's where Arsenal - yes - come in to the equation.

They officially joined the First Division in 1904 as Woolwich Arsenal, and spent nine years in the top flight before being relegated.

Woolwich Arsenal finished two points above the relegation zone in 1910 to briefly threaten the record, before West Brom earned promotion the following season.

Wigan Athletic, Wimbledon and Watford have also had varying stints in the English top flight during professional football history.

Another (largely pointless) statistic emerged on Saturday afternoon following Hull City's promotion to the Premier League.

Their 1-0 win over Middlesbrough at Wembley in the play-off means the Tigers are the only team in the top flight - and, indeed, the top four divisions - where none of the letters of their name can be coloured in.

Hull haven't been in the Premier League since the 2016/17 season, when they went through four different managers and finished in 18th place.

They will hope for better next season under the tutelage of Bosnian coach Sergej Jakirovic, who was appointed last summer after the Tigers sacked Ruben Selles.

Despite operating under a summer transfer embargo then even restricted what they could pay in wages, Jakirovic managed to bring in experienced Championship players such as Oli McBurnie - their top scorer who scored the winner at Wembley - John Lundstram and Semi Ajayi.

The club added Paddy McNair and Kieran Dowell to their ranks in January having also secured the summer loan signing of forward Joe Gelhardt from Leeds, who could become one of their first permanent signings this summer.

Alongside those records, Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes made history as the leading assist provider in a single Premier League season, with 21.

He set up Patrick Dorgu to score third-placed United's first goal in their 3-0 final day win over Brighton at the Amex Stadium.