The men we lost at Munich

The men we lost at Munich





The Munich air disaster on 6 February 1958 claimed the lives of 23 passengers and crew. Here, ManUtd.com remembers the eight United players and three officials who died, through the words of those who knew them best.

Roger Byrne - aged 28, full-back. 277 appearances, 19 goals, 33 England caps.

"An aristocratic footballer, majestic in his movement. Roger was so fast but at the same time he controlled his movement beautifully, like Nureyev." - Sir Matt Busby

Geoff Bent - aged 25, full-back. 12 appearances.

"When Geoff matured and reached his twenties there were many clubs after him but he stayed loyal. He could look after himself and was a great tackler. Roger Byrne was a consistent player and very brave, that was the reason Geoff got so few games, but he was good enough to hold a regular place in any team." - Jimmy Murphy

Eddie Colman - aged 21, half-back. 107 appearances, 2 goals.

"Eddie was a chirpy lad and a terrific player. He pushed the ball - never kicked it - and he jinked past players. He was known for his swivel hips." - Wilf McGuinness

David Pegg - aged 22, forward, 148 appearances, 28 goals, 1 England cap.

"David would have been a great asset to any team because he was a natural, left-flank player. David was very, very clever. Our best left-winger by a mile." - Sir Matt Busby


Mark Jones - aged 24, half-back, 120 appearances, 1 goal.

"Yorkshireman Mark was a really lovely fellow, but my word he was a tough nut, and nobody took any liberties with him on or off the field." - Bill Foulkes

Duncan Edwards - aged 21, half-back, 175 apps., 21 goals, 18 England caps, 5 goals.

"When I used to hear Muhammad Ali proclaim to the world he was the greatest, I used to smile. The greatest of them all was a footballer named Duncan Edwards." - Jimmy Murphy

"The only player who ever made me feel inferior." - Sir Bobby Charlton






Tommy Taylor - aged 26, forward, 189 apps., 128 goals, 19 England caps, 16 goals

"I rate him as one of the all-time, best centre-forwards in the game, and he had yet to realise all his potential. He was a typically bluff Yorkshireman in many ways, often acting the clown, and a great team man." - Bill Foulkes

Liam 'Billy' Whelan - aged 22, forward, 96 apps., 52 goals, 4 Republic of Ireland caps

"Billy was a magician with a ball at his feet. I really don't think he knew how good he was and how much better he could have become. A world-class forward. There is no doubt about that. His vision and passing was sheer class." - Albert Scanlon

Walter Crickmer, club secretary / Tom Curry, trainer / Bert Whalley, coach

"Walter Crickmer always reminded me of a little dynamo, nothing was too much trouble. Tom Curry, the trainer, was someone we looked up to like a father. And Bert Whalley was certainly a tremendous help to me when I was a part-timer." - Bill Foulkes

The darkest day: 6 Feb 1958

The darkest day: 6 Feb 1958


February 6 will forever be circled on the calendars of everyone connected with Manchester United.

On that day in 1958, the darkest day in United's history, 23 people - including eight players and three members of the club's staff - suffered fatal injuries in the Munich air crash.

Flying back from a European Cup tie against Red Star Belgrade, the team plane stopped in Germany to refuel. The first two attempts to take off from Munich airport were aborted; following a third attempt, the plane crashed.



Twenty-two of the people on board died instantly, while Duncan Edwards - one of the eight victims from the team - died 15 days later as a result of the injuries he sustained.

The tragedy is an indelible part of United's history, as is Sir Matt Busby overcoming his injuries to build another great team which won the European Cup 10 years later.

Roger Byrne (28), Eddie Colman (21), Mark Jones (24), David Pegg (22), Tommy Taylor (26), Geoff Bent (25), Liam Whelan (22) and Duncan Edwards (21) all died, along with club secretary Walter Crickmer, trainer Tom Curry and coach Bert Whalley.

Eight journalists died - Alf Clarke, Tom Jackson, Don Davies, George Fellows, Archie Ledbrook, Eric Thompson, Henry Rose, and Frank Swift who was a former Manchester City player. Plane captain Ken Rayment perished, as did Sir Matt's friend Willie Sanitof. Travel agent Bela Miklos and passenger Tom Cable also died.

The Busby years (1945–1969)

Birth and Rise of the Babes<>



As challenges go, the manager's job at Manchester United in 1945 seemed to be the equivalent of scaling Mount Everest in bare feet.

During the 1930s, the club was twice relegated from the top division and was close to bankruptcy. Then in 1941, during the Second World War, the Luftwaffe (Nazi Germany’s air force) bombed Old Trafford, leaving United to play their home games at Maine Road - the ground of local rivals Manchester City.

Such matters were, however, incidental to Matt Busby when he agreed to take charge at United on 19 February 1945. For Busby had a glittering vision: he saw beauty in that bombed-out stadium, and the chance to create a phoenix from those flames.

A native of Bellshill, a coal-mining community in Lanarkshire, Scotland, Busby knew the value of hard work, and recognised what honest endeavour could achieve. Crucially, too, he knew both Manchester and its people, having played for Manchester City in their 1934 FA Cup success. His partnership with United would change the face of English football.





Liverpool wanted Busby back after the war as player-coach. But Busby wanted to shape the future - he dreamed of younger, fresher legs, players to mould in his image. He knew youth held the key, not only to United’s success, but the future of the game. He found a kindred spirit in his predecessor Walter Crickmer, who remained club secretary. Crickmer helped to establish the Manchester United Junior Athletic Club (MUJACs) in 1938 and from those seeds Busby’s empire was born.
Busby set up an office two bus rides from Old Trafford. “In that small office there was not much room for dreaming, or much time but dream I did,” Busby reflected. He quickly appointed an assistant, his old army mate Jimmy Murphy, who took charge of the reserves, paying special attention to the youth team.

Within two years, Busby’s pioneering, hands-on management delivered United’s first trophy for almost 40 years. The FA Cup was won in 1948 with attacking football against a Blackpool side featuring the legendary English player Stanley Matthews.

After a couple of near misses, United won the league title in 1952. But the team was ageing - the time was coming for Busby to bring young, homegrown players into his senior squad.

Roger Byrne - who had excelled in the latter stages of 1951/52 on the wing - soon became a regular at full-back. Jackie Blanchflower, who alongside Byrne had been the first players to be called “Babes”, was joined more regularly by centre-half Mark Jones, who’d also made a few appearances for 1952’s title winners. Next came Eddie Colman and a boy in a man’s body - Duncan Edwards, who made his first team debut at the age of just 17.

Rise of the Babes




Not all of Busby's players were homegrown "Babes". In March 1953, he signed centre-forward Tommy Taylor from Barnsley for £29,999. He was to form a formidable partnership with Dennis Viollet, especially in 1955/56, when at least one of them scored in 21 of the 27 games they played together.
United ran away with the title, clinching it on Saturday 7 April 1956 against Blackpool, the club they’d beaten to win Busby’s first trophy (the 1948 FA Cup). The average age of the team was just 22. “The marks of the nursery cradle were on them, but they did not show,” said Busby, glowing with pride.

The challenge was to prove that the title success in 1955/56 was no flash in the pan. But Busby wasn’t satisfied with domestic domination alone: he sought a new test in the shape of the European Cup. United entered it for the first time in the 1956/57 season, initially without the blessing of the Football Association. In the preliminary round, they demolished Belgian club Anderlecht 10-0 under Maine Road’s floodlights after a 2-0 away success. The result remains United’s biggest win in a competitive match. Having also beaten Borussia Dortmund and Athletic Bilbao, United exited in the semi-final, that great Madrid side proving too wily in a 5-3 aggregate win.

At home, the Red army marched on. A fresh young hopeful, Bobby Charlton, scored twice on his debut, appropriately enough against Charlton Athletic – and was promptly dropped, such was the quality at Busby’s disposal. A fifth consecutive FA Youth Cup trophy was secured as the conveyor belt of talent continued to move.

The league title was retained as Taylor and Viollet once again teamed up admirably, but the top scorer was Ireland’s Liam Whelan who hit 26 goals. United had became an irresistible force – almost. Aston Villa prevented them winning the first league
and FA Cup double of the modern age with a controversial 2-1 win at Wembley. The scorer of Villa’s goals Peter McParland was the villain, his shoulder barge on Ray Wood resulting in the United goalkeeper fracturing a cheekbone.

Despite that disappointment, time was on United’s side. Thoughts soon turned to capturing a third title in a row and another assault on Europe. Busby bolstered his Babes with another big signing, paying a world record fee for a goalkeeper to bring in Harry Gregg.

The season unfolded much like the previous two with smooth progress both domestically and in Europe. February opened with a thrilling encounter against Arsenal at Highbury. In an absorbing match, United edged out the Gunners 5-4; ideal preparation for the daunting European Cup quarter-final second-leg trip to meet Red Star Belgrade...

Early years (1878–1945)

Early years (1878–1945)

The Manchester United team at the start of the 1905–06 season in which they were runners up in Division 2 and promotedThe club was formed as Newton Heath L&YR F.C. in 1878 as the works team of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway depot at Newton Heath. The club's shirts were green and gold halves. They played on a small, dilapidated field on North Road, near the future site of the Manchester Piccadilly railway station for fifteen years, before moving to Bank Street in the nearby town of Clayton in 1893. The club had entered the Football League the previous year and began to sever its links with the rail depot, becoming an independent company, appointing a club secretary and dropping the "L&YR" from their name to become simply Newton Heath F.C.. Not long afterwards, in 1902, the club neared bankruptcy, with debts of over £2500. At one point, their Bank Street ground was even closed by the bailiffs.

Just before having to be shut down for good, the club received a sizeable investment from J. H. Davies, the managing director of Manchester Breweries. Legend goes that Harry Stafford, the club captain, was showing off his prized St. Bernard dog at a club fund-raiser, when Davies approached him to buy the dog. Stafford declined, but was able to persuade Davies to invest in the club and become club chairman. It was decided at one of the early board meetings that the club required a change of name to reflect the fresh start they had been afforded. Manchester Central and Manchester Celtic were among the names suggested, before Louis Rocca, a young immigrant from Italy, said "Gentlemen, why don't we call ourselves Manchester United?"The name stuck, and Manchester United officially came into existence on 26 April 1902. Davies also decided it would be appropriate to change the club's colours, abandoning the green and gold halves of Newton Heath, and picking red and white to be the colours of Manchester United.

Ernest Mangnall was appointed as club secretary after James West had resigned as manager on 28 September 1902. Mangnall was charged with trying to get the club into the First Division, and fell just short of that target at the first attempt, finishing in 5th in Division Two. Mangnall decided that it was necessary to bring in some fresh faces to the club, and signed players such as Harry Moger in goal, Dick Duckworth at half-back and John Picken up front, but it was another new half-back by the name of Charlie Roberts who made the biggest impact. He cost the club a then-record £750 from Grimsby Town in April 1904, and helped them to a third place finish in the 1903–04 season, just a point short of the second promotion place.

It was not long, however, before the club was at last promoted to the First Division for the first time under their new name, finishing in second place in the 1905–06 Second Division. A season of consolidation followed, with the club finishing in 8th, before they finally won their first league title in 1908. Manchester City had recently been under investigation for paying some of their players a salary over the amount allowed by FA regulations. They were fined £250 and eighteen of their players were banned from playing for them ever again. United were quick to pounce on the situation, picking up Billy Meredith (the Welsh Wizard) and Sandy Turnbull, amongst others. The new boys from across town were ineligible to play until New Year's Day 1907, due to their suspension, so it was left until the 1907–08 season for them to make a proper impact on United's bid for the title. And that they did, getting the campaign off to a storming start, with a 2–1 victory over Sheffield United, beginning a run of ten consecutive victories. Despite a shaky end to the season, United managed to hang on and finished the season nine points ahead of their closest rivals, Aston Villa.

The following season began with United picking up another piece of silverware, the first ever Charity Shield, and ended with another, the club's first FA Cup title, sowing the seeds for what has become a record number of FA Cup titles. Just as they were in the club's first title-winning campaign, Turnbull and Meredith were instrumental in this season, Turnbull scoring the winner in the FA Cup Final. The club had to wait another two years before winning any more silverware, winning the First Division for the second time in the 1910–11 season. In the meantime, United moved to their new ground at Old Trafford. They played their first game there on 19 February 1910 against Liverpool, but lost 4–3 having thrown away a 3–0 lead. They then went trophyless again in the 1911–12 season, which not only proved to be the last with Mangnall in charge (he moved to Manchester City after ten years with United), but also the last time the club won the First Division for 41 years, the longest time they have gone without winning the league in their history.

For the next ten years, the club went into a state of gradual decline before being relegated back down to Division Two in 1922. They were promoted again in 1925, but struggled to get into the top half of the table, and were relegated again in 1931. In the eight years leading up to the Second World War, the club became somewhat of a yo-yo club, reaching their all-time lowest position of 20th in Division Two in 1934. They were promoted and relegated once again before being promoted in the penultimate season before the Second World War. They guaranteed their place in the top flight for after the war by finishing in 14th in the 1938–39 season.

MANCHESTER UNITED

MANCHESTER UNITED


Manchester United Football Club is an English football club, based at the Old Trafford stadium in Trafford, Greater Manchester, and is arguably the most popular football club in the world, with over 330 million supporters worldwide; 5% of the world's population. The club was a founding member of the Premier League in 1993, and has played in the top division of English football since 1975. Average attendances at the club have been higher than any other team in English football for all but six seasons since 1964–65.

The club is one of the most successful in English football; for over twenty years, since the 1986–87 season, they have won 18 major honours, which is more than any other Premier League club. They are the Premier League's reigning champions, and have won the Premier League/Football League 16 times. In 1968, they became the first English club to win the European Cup, beating S.L. Benfica 4–1, and they won a second European Cup in 1999. They also hold the record for the most FA Cup titles with 11.

Since the late 1990s, the club has been one of the richest in the world with the highest revenue of any football club, and is currently the second richest club in the world, based on revenue.[6] Manchester United, which remains the most valuable club in the world,was a founding member of the now-defunct G-14 group of Europe's leading football clubs and its replacement, the European Club Association.

Sir Alex Ferguson has been manager of the club since 6 November 1986. The captain is Gary Neville, who succeeded Roy Keane in November 2005.