The Legend of the Busby Babes

February 6, 1958 - On that fateful winter’s day exactly 50 years ago, the plane carrying Manchester United players back from a victorious European match at Belgrade, crashed after a failed attempt to take off after a refueling stop in Munich. The club lost 8 players in that tragedy and this became a moment of profound significance not just in ManUtd’s history but also in English football’s.

Sir Matt Busby, the ManUtd manager, had envisioned a golden age for ManUtd after being crowned English champions in 1956 and 1957, with a team of young starlets including Duncan Edwards, the then golden boy of football and the youngest international in England’s history. Busby had dreams of European domination, but those dreams lay in tatters while he lay critically injured in a hospital, but more painful was the excruciating news that he had lost most of his squad.

Apart from Duncan Edwards, ManUtd lost their captain Roger Byrne, David Pegg, Eddie Colman, Tommy Taylor, Billy Whelan, Mark Jones and Geoff Bent. Eight journalists, 3 United staff, one crew member, the co-pilot, and two other passengers lost their lives.

Busby recovered from his injuries and so did a few other players including Bobby Charlton, Dennis Viollet, and Bill Foulkes, among others. Amazingly, ManUtd made it to the FA Cup final, where they lost to Bolton Wanderers. But then, the club stumbled into the wilderness for a few years but who would have thought that Sir Matt Busby would build another great ManUtd side, a team that played some of the finest football in Europe.

At a time when football was moving towards conservatism and tactical organization, Busby's refusal not to compromise on the club’s attacking style of football led to the club winning its first European title in 1968, the first English club to do so.

It is not the Munich tragedy that propelled United into a club with a worldwide fan base but it is the way they regrouped under their manager Sir Matt Busby, deriving strength from adversity, building a great side that consisted of Bobby Charlton, Denis Law, and George Best, and winning the European Cup on the 10th anniversary of the Munich tragedy.