The Busby Babes Story – Part 1

“Keep the Flag Flying, Jim.”

That ‘s what Sir Matt Busby told the stand-in manager and assistant manager, Jimmy Murphy as Manchester United lined up to play Sheffield Wednesday just 2 weeks after the fateful Munich aircrash.

Manchester United won 3-0.

The match-day programme showed blank spaces in places where United’s players’ names should have been.

What Manchester United taught the world that day was something greater than playing good football. It was life and the art of living. The players, the staff, the supporters; everyone taught us that no matter what life gives and no matter how hard fate hits you, you just have to keep on going, Keeping the Flag  Flying, Jim.

Today, on the 58th anniversary of the tragic crash that took the lives of  11 Manchester United players and staff, we look back at the incredible story of will,  grit and perseverance by Sir Matt Busby and his Babes which re-defined the word “comeback” and showcased to the world, what Manchester United were made of. That a club can defy bankruptcy, destruction, war and tragedy to give itself a new beginning, and everyone else- a new hope.  30 years later Fergie’s Fledglings in the shape of Giggs, Scholes, Nevilles, Butt and Beckham testified the pedigree of Manchester United and were an apt homage to the philosophy that is Manchester United and to those long gone- The Busby Babes.

The fable of the Busby Babes started well before the appointment of Sir Matt Busby. The seeds of Busby’s Empire; the foundation for the assault and conquer of England which stretched and culminated into European glory of 1968, were founded in 1938 by Walter Crickmer with the establishment of  Manchester United Junior Athletic Club (MUJACs)- The eventual birthplace of the Busby Babes. Crickmer was a visionary as well, like Busby but the club still had to endure a couple of dark days of it’s history before scaling immortality . The club, Manchester United, had been relegated twice to the lower divisions during the 1930’s and was on the verge of bankruptcy in 1934 before they were financially saved by a sort of divine intervention involving a dog or so the legend says. Then with the break-out of the Second World War, football was suspended.
In 1941, with Germany at the height of its invasion, the German Luftwaffe (Nazi Germany’s air force) bombed Old Trafford during The Battle of Britain.

So, when Matt Busby was appointed as the manager of Manchester United on 19th Feb, 1945, he inherited a club with a bombed out stadium and his team was left to play it’s home matches in the cross-town rival’s stadium – Manchester City’s Maine Road. He faced the tough task of rejuvenating a club which finished 14th in the First Division before the advent of Second World War.

It was a historic decision. Not only because Manchester United snatched him away from Liverpool who wanted their man back after the War but also as a decision which altered the course of Manchester United and world football in general. Something whose consequences are still reverberated at present, for Matt Busby was a visionary who envisioned the resurrection and resurgence of the club which hadn’t won the league since 1911 from the beauty he saw in the ruins of Old Trafford. Following a revolutionary approach of promoting youthful, home-grown players from the academy into the United first team instead of purchasing big-money players which was the norm in those days like much like today, figuratively and literally similar to the myth of the rebirth of a Phoenix from its own ashes, Matt Busby also demanded an unprecedented level of control over team selection, player transfers and training sessions. He quickly appointed an assistant, his old army mate Jimmy Murphy, who took charge of the reserves, paying special attention to the youth team. As a result he led Manchester United to a 2nd place finish for 3 years on a trot- 1947, 1948 and 1949 and an FA Cup triumph in 1948.

In 1952, Matt Busby led United to it’s first First Division triumph in 41 years. The team was however, ageing and it was time for the young, home-grown players to finally leave a mark in history.

Roger Byrne and Jackie Blanchflower, became the first players to be called “Babes”, and they were joined more regularly by centre-half Mark Jones, who had already broken into the 1952 title winning team. Then came Eddie Colman and a certain Duncan Edward. The child prodigy. The kid in a man’s body who made his debut at the age of 17.
Four years later, with an average age of 22 years, Manchester United won the First Division again in 1956. 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). It was the youngest ever team to achieve such a feat and Busby was offered the Manager’s post for Real Madrid. It was a “manager’s paradise”, as described by the then Real Madrid President.

Busby responded -“Manchester is my heaven.”

In the following year when Manchester United triumphed again, this time with an average age of 23 years, the phoenix had already been born from the ashes and was rampant. Matt Busby’s philosophy was finally bearing fruits and United’s triumph in 1956 was not a mere fluke. It was now that the media coined the famous term- The Busby Babes- Champions of England.

Also, with United already being the champions of England in 1955/56, Busby sought new challenges for his boys. European glory was in his sights. With a visible friction from The Football Association, Manchester United participated in the European Cup in the 1956/57 season and demolished the Belgian side, Andrelecht, 10-0 under the floodlights of Maine Road after a 2-0 success away from home. The monstrous result still remains United’s biggest win in a competitive match. Having beaten Borussia Dortmund and pulled off an incredible turn-around against Athletic Bilbao, coming back from a 5-3 away loss to win 3-0 at The Maine Road, the Babes eventually bowed out of the competition after the semi-final defeat to Real Madrid, with the great Real Madrid side of the era edging past them 5-3 on aggregate.

The boys from Manchester United Junior Athletic Club (MUJACs) were fulfilling Crickmer’s and Busby’s dream of protecting the future of football in Manchester United. The club was self-sufficient again and was not heavily reliant on foreign legs. And the brand of football which Matt Busby had moulded his Babes into was a sight to behold. The swagger, flair and the attacking style of play which nowadays, everyone associates with Manchester United, was a dream. A dream which Matt Busby dared to dream and which his Babes realized and a dream which everyone who watches football even now, wishes to be keep on being realized.

“In that small office there was not much room for dreaming, or much time but dream I did,”

-Sir Matt Busby. 

Thoughts were re-directed to winning  a third league title in a row and another assault at the European title. The FA Youth Cup victory in 1956-57 season had already guaranteed that the conveyor belt of talent was working in full swing. A fresh, young and hopeful, Bobby Charlton, had scored twice on his debut, against Charlton Athletic, at Maine Road on 6th October, 1956. He was dropped promptly- such was the amount of quality at Busby’s disposal. Manchester United started the new season in  full aplomb. A wold record fee was payed to buy goal-keeper Harry Gregg after the debacle against Aston Villa the previous season during the FA Cup final,  costing them the FA Cup title.  The season carried on pretty much like the previous two with smooth progress both domestically and in Europe. February opened with an engrossing and exciting encounter against Arsenal at Highbury. In an absorbing match, United edged out the Gunners 5-4, showcasing the bed-rock of Manchester United’s attacking philosophy- outscoring the opponent. Up next was the all important quarter-final away leg against Red Star Belgrade. It was a daunting fixture and a positive result would have ensured a semi-final berth – United were already leading 2-1 after the match at Maine Road. On 5th February, United drew 3-3 with Red Star Belgrade, qualifying for the semi-finals for the second year running.

On 6th February, 15:04, tragedy struck…

(The second part of the article will follow soon)