THE MUNICH AIR DISASTER AND THE BUSBY BABES. The Munich air disaster occurred on 6th February 1958, 57 years ago, when British European Airways flight 609 crashed on its third attempt to take off from a slush-covered runway at Munich-Riem Airport, West Germany. On the plane was the Manchester United football team, nicknamed the Busby Babes, along with supporters and journalists. The Busby Babes was the name given to a group of Manchester United players, recruited and trained by the clubs chief scout Joe Armstrong and assistant manager Jimmy Murphy, who progressed from the clubs youth team into the first team under the management of the eponymous Matt Busby. The Busby Babes were notable not only for being young and gifted, but for being developed by the club itself, rather than bought from other clubs, which was customary then, as now. The term, coined by Manchester Evening News journalist Frank Nicklin Eight of the players – Roger Byrne (28), Eddie Colman (21), Mark Jones (24), Duncan Edwards (21), Billy Whelan (22), Tommy Taylor (26), David Pegg (22) and Geoff Bent (25) – died in or as a result of the Munich air disaster in February 1958, while Jackie Blanchflower (24 at the time of the crash) and senior player Johnny Berry (31 at the time of the crash) were injured to such an extent that they never played again. Other notable Busby Babes include full-back Bill Foulkes, wingers Kenny Morgans and Albert Scanlon, forward Dennis Viollet, wing-half Wilf McGuinness (who later managed United) and forwards John Doherty and Colin Webster. The last remaining player from the pre-Munich side, Bobby Charlton (20 at the time of the crash), retired from playing in 1975; though he had left Manchester United two years earlier, he had continued playing as player-manager of Preston North End. As a player he set the all-time goalscoring record for Manchester United and England, and his appearance record was unbroken for 35 years after his last game for United. In this very special series, leading up to February 6th we will be featuring profiles of the eight Busby Babes who died in the Munich Air Disaster starting with Roger Byrne and Eddie Colman. In United You Live Forever DN #MUFC
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 20:38:44 +0000
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