Background
Woodards was born in East Ham, England and started his football career playing with local sides in East London.
Woodards was born in East Ham, England and started his football career playing with local sides in East London.
He joined West Ham in 1905 but did not make an appearance for them until 1907 in a game in the Southern League against Brighton. He also played for West Ham in the Second Division after World War I. He finished playing in 1921 having made 197 appearances in all competitions for West Ham, scoring three goals
Woodards returned to West Ham to work as a groundsman at Upton Park. He was the only person in the ground when, in August 1944, a Luftwaffe V1 landed on the pitch, exploding and causing damage to the playing area.
West Ham were forced to play away from Upton Park, winning nine consecutive matches.
After hard work by Woodards the pitch was restored and West Ham returned there to play their home games, losing 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur on their return. Woodards died in 1964.