From barefoot poverty
The
Aberdonian lad
Played
his way to become
“King
of the Stretford End”
Nicknamed
the “Lawman”
By
the United faithful
And
“Denis the Menace”
By
opposing supporters
He
won the Ballon d'Or 64
Along with Best
and Charlton
An Old Trafford
Legend
Born in Ashington, Northumberland
Bobby
Charlton played up front
For
Manchester United and England
One of the greatest players of all time,
Winning
the Ballon d'Or in 1966
And
finishing runner up in 67 and 68
Renowned for his attacking instincts,
Passing abilities from midfield,
And ferocious long-range shooting
From both left and right foot,
Along
with his fitness, and stamina
A
true gentleman of the game
Cautioned only twice in his career
Once against Argentina in 1966
And
against Chelsea in Division one
His first-team debut was in 1956
The
following year United became
The
First Division Champions
February
the following year
He
survived the Munich air disaster
After being rescued by Harry Gregg
He
played 606 games, scoring 199 goals
And
for England 106 games 49 goals
During
his 17 years with United
He
won three division 1 titles
A
European Cup in 1968, FA Cup in 1963
And
two Charity Shields, and a World Cup
He
left Manchester United in 1973
Charlton
was one of the United Trinity
Along
with George Best and Denis Law
Sir
Bobby is an Old Trafford Legend
Manchester born Shay Brennan
Played
355 games for United
And
was the first player to score
For
Manchester United
Post
the Munich air disaster
Scoring
a brace on his debut,
Not
a bad start for 20 year old
During
his 14 years with them
A European Cup in
1968
And two Charity
shields
Dublin born Tony Dunne
Was
a long time left back
Who
played 414 games
For
Manchester United
And
33 times for Ireland
During
his 13 years with United
He
won two division 1 titles
A
European Cup in 1968
And
the FA Cup in 1963
Seamus Anthony “Shay” Brennan (6 May 1937 – 9 June 2000)
Shay’s
first game for the Reds
Was Manchester
United's first,
After the Munich air disaster
It
was in an FA Cup match
On
the 19th of February 1958
Against Sheffield Wednesday
On an emotionally charged night
Shay
Brennan scored two goals
While
playing as an outside-left
Which
was not his natural position
But
in an odds and sods team sheet
Following the death of David Pegg
And Albert Scanlon crash injuries
He
abandoned his fullback position
And
secured a famous victory
On
the most bittersweet night
In
Old Trafford’s long history
Charles Mitten (17 January 1921 – 2 January 2002)
Rangoon
born Charles Mitten
Was
an English outside forward
Who
played 142 games for United
And
scored 50 goals in 4 years
After
leaving United he joined
Independiente
Santa Fe in Colombia
For
a large signing on fee, earning him
The
nickname of the “Bogota Bandit”
Manchester born Albert Scanlon
Played
115 games for United
Scoring
34 goals as an outside left
He was one of the “Busby Babes”
Who sustained severe injuries
Following the Munich air disaster
It was a long road to recovery
And didn’t play until the next season
But
the injuries took their toll
George Reginald Cohen MBE (22 October 1939 – 23 December 2022)
George Cohen was a one-club
player
Playing 459 games
at right back for Fulham
He will also be
forever immortalized
For winning the
World Cup with England in 1966
In which he played
in every minute
Of his country's six
games,
For which he was
inducted into
The English
Football Hall of Fame
England Manager, Sir
Alf Ramsey
Unequivocally called
Cohen
“England's
greatest right-back”,
While Manchester
United winger
George Best, claimed
he was
“The best
full-back I ever played against”.
His life was not
all glory however
He had more than
his fair share of illness and injury
And personal
tragedy in his life
But he was a true English
sporting hero
(31 December 1933 - 2 July 2024)
On hearing about
his passing
A statement from
United read:
“There were few
more perceptive
And precise
passers of a football
In England than Jeff
Whitefoot
During the
mid-1950s”
In April 1950,
Aged 16 years and
105 days,
Jeff Whitefoot debuted
as one
Of the original
Busby Babes,
A team that, in
the 1950s,
Took the First
Division by storm
Known for its youth
And exciting football
Under legendary
manager
Sir Matt Busby.
Jeff Whitefoot won
two
First Division
titles
As one of the Babes
In 1952 and 1956
He transferred to Grimsby
At the end of
1957.
Three months
before the
Munich air
disaster,
Which claimed the
lives
Of eight of his former
teammates.
HARRY GREGG OBE - (27th October 1932 – 16th February 2020)
Go now Harry
Lay down your keepers’
gloves
You’ve earned your
rest
Our tower of strength
Straight backed
Rugged and dependable
Hero of Munich
Take your place
Among your equals
And be at peace
Your strong facade
Oft betrayed
By sadness in your
eyes
The sadness of
survival
So, go now Harry
And join the Babes
The band of brothers
You’ve missed so much
And take your place
Among immortals
In the wake of tragedy
Harry Gregg arose
From the snow
And twisted wreckage
With no thought of
himself
Pulled survivors
From the burning plane
Assisted latterly
By Bill Foulkes,
Another heroic figure.
Though Harry thought
His actions
unremarkable
On that cold February
day
George best, said of
him
“Bravery is one thing,
But what Harry did
Was about more than
bravery,
It was about goodness”
Now the Hero of Munich
Has left us to mourn
his passing
As he has gone to join
the Babes
But he lives on in the
legend
Brentford versus Watford,
Is basically me
against my cousin
The Bee’s against the
Hornet’s
I’m telling you we’re
buzzin
Manchester United’s underground
Heating hasn’t been
restored
So they’re planning to
rename
The stadium Cold
Trafford
The Forgotten Babe
John James
"Johnny" Berry
Survived the wreckage
Amidst the snows of
Munich
Though the crash
didn’t end his life
He never played again
Nicknamed "Twiggy"
John
"Jackie" Blanchflower
Survived the wreckage
Amidst the snows of
Munich
Though the crash
didn’t end his life
It did bring his
footballing career
To an untimely end
WILLIAM ANTHONY "BILL" FOULKES - (5 JANUARY 1932 – 25 NOVEMBER 2013)
Go now Bill
Lay down the captain’s
armband
You’ve earned your
rest
Our tower of strength
Straight backed
Rugged and dependable
Take your place
Among your equals
And be at peace
Your strong facade
Oft betrayed
By sadness in your
eyes
The sadness of
survival
So go now Bill
And join the babes
You’ve missed so much
And take your place
Among immortals
At Old Trafford
In tragedies wake
In the eerie quiet
The terraces echoed
The mournful silence
And even the empty
Seats shed tears
For The busby babes
In the aftermath of Munich
All of football felt
the loss
In an altogether more
Caring and respectful
time
When fans of all teams
Out of respect, wore
black
And stadia were universally quiet
Manchester United’s
Callous attitude
So cold and harsh
Towards the survivors
Beggared belief
And was never more
Keenly felt than when,
Only days after
The Munich Disaster
Gregg and Foulkes,
Though traumatised
And grieving and
feeling
The guilt of the
survivor
Were forced to play
Afterwards Harry Gregg
And Bill Foulkes
Forced to play too
soon
With the guilt of the
survivor
Sat in the dressing
room
Staring with empty eyes
In the wake of tragedy
Harry Gregg arose
And with no thought
Of himself
Pulled survivors
From the burning plane
Assisted latterly
By Bill Foulkes
Though he thought
His action
unremarkable
George Best, said of
him
“Bravery is one thing
But what Harry did
Was about more than
bravery.
It was about goodness”
