In February 1958, tragedy struck the renowned Manchester United football team, altering its course forever. Following a successful European Cup match in Belgrade, the team embarked on their journey back to Manchester, making a fateful stop at Munich-Riem Airport in West Germany. Adverse weather conditions and a failed take-off resulted in a devastating plane crash, claiming the lives of seven players, three staff members, and eight journalists.
Manchester United is probably one of the most popular football teams in the world. Whether you are watching the All Reds playing on a TV in Sydney, Tokyo or New York, you can almost guarantee that the rest of the room will be supporting Manchester United with you. It’s been like this for years.
An event just over sixty years ago almost changed that. At the time, Manchester United was said to be the finest soccer team that Great Britain had produced since World War II. It had won three league titles in six years between 1952 and 1957. But in February 1958, the Manchester United team, together with its senior management and journalists, travelled to Belgrade to take part in a European Cup match. The team was successful and was returning home to Manchester knowing that it was through to the European Cup semi-finals.
Air travel in those days was not like today when planes can fly halfway across the world without stopping. In those days, even short journeys required several stops so the plane could be refuelled. On 6th February 1958, the Manchester United team stopped at Munich-Riem Airport in West Germany to refuel. As everyone waited, it began to snow and the weather grew worse and worse.
Finally, the plane was ready. Fallen snow was beginning to melt on the runway, leaving a thick slush. Players looked out of the window nervously. The plane tried to take off once and then a second time. It went for a third attempt. If this failed, the team would have had to stay in West Germany overnight. No-one wanted that.
The plane raced along the 600-metre-long runway and everything looked fine. Then, the engines began to lose power. There was no take-off and the plane crashed into a ball of fire at the end of the runway.
Seven Manchester United players were killed in the crash, as were three club staff and eight journalists. The famous Manchester United team had lost over half of its players. Many thought that there would be no chance of the club continuing. The City of Manchester began to mourn.
In the following weeks and months, a Manchester United side was made up from the reserve and youth teams. In its very first match following the tragedy, it beat Sheffield Wednesday 3 – 0, despite only two of the original team players being fit to play.
Slowly, and under the guidance of Matt Busby the team’s manager and a survivor of the crash, new players were signed up. Amongst them were George Best and Dennis Law, who became the next generation of superstars. The rest, as they say, is history.
The Munich Disaster
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