Munich 1958: the last flight of the Busby Babes

In the mid-1950s, Manchester United had one of the youngest squads in England. Scottish manager Matt Busby, who had arrived at the club in 1945, put his faith in youngsters brought up through the youth ranks, and the press christened them the Busby Babes. With an average age of around 22, that group won the English league in 1956 and retained it in 1957.

The 1956-57 season was their introduction to Europe. United played in the European Cup for the first time. In their first tie they thrashed Anderlecht 10-0 at Maine Road, Manchester City's ground. They then knocked out Borussia Dortmund and Athletic Bilbao. In the semi-finals they fell to Real Madrid, 5-3 on aggregate. In the league they scored 103 goals and finished eight points clear of Tottenham. Only the FA Cup final, lost 2-1 to Aston Villa, denied them the double.

That team had goals to spare. Tommy Taylor scored 34 goals in the season and Liam Whelan 33. In October 1956 a young Bobby Charlton made his league debut, scoring twice against Charlton Athletic in his first match.

In February 1958, United were back in the quarter-finals of the European Cup. The opponents were Red Star Belgrade. In the first leg, in Manchester, United had won 2-1. On February 5 they drew 3-3 in Belgrade and, with that result, went through to the semi-finals 5-4 on aggregate.

The next day, February 6, the team set off for home on British European Airways Flight 609, an Airspeed Ambassador. The aircraft did not have the range to fly non-stop and landed at Munich-Riem airport to refuel. There, two take-off attempts were abandoned because of engine problems. Meanwhile it was snowing, and slush was building up on the runway. On the third attempt, that layer of snow and water slowed the plane down. It failed to reach the speed needed to take off and crashed.

Of the 44 people on board, 23 died and 21 survived. Among the dead were eight players: Geoff Bent, Roger Byrne, Eddie Colman, Duncan Edwards, Mark Jones, David Pegg, Tommy Taylor and Liam Whelan. Taylor and Whelan had been the team's top scorers the previous season. Duncan Edwards, aged 21, died in hospital fifteen days after the crash. Three club staff, eight journalists and other passengers and crew also lost their lives.

Matt Busby suffered very serious injuries but managed to recover. Goalkeeper Harry Gregg, who came out alive, helped rescue several passengers from the wreckage. Bobby Charlton also survived.

With Busby in hospital, his assistant Jimmy Murphy, who had not travelled to Belgrade, took charge of the team. That same year, United reached the 1958 FA Cup final, although they lost it to Bolton Wanderers.

Busby returned to the dugout and patiently rebuilt the team. The 1960s brought new titles: the 1963 FA Cup and the league in 1965 and 1967. On May 29, 1968, ten years after Munich, Manchester United won the European Cup for the first time. The final was played at Wembley against Benfica. It ended 4-1 after extra time, and Bobby Charlton, a survivor of the crash, scored twice. The other two came from George Best and Brian Kidd. Today, at Old Trafford, a plaque and a clock bearing the date of the crash remember those who never came back from that trip.