Sir Robert Charlton was an English professional footballer who played as a midfielder or centre-forward. Widely considered one of the greatest players of all time, he was a member of the England team that won the 1966 FIFA World Cup, the year he also won the Ballon d'Or. He finished second in the Ballon d'Or voting in 1967 and 1968. He played almost all of his club football at Manchester United, where he became renowned for his attacking instincts, passing abilities from midfield, ferocious long-range shooting from both left and right foot, fitness, and stamina. He was cautioned only twice in his career; once against Argentina in the 1966 World Cup, and once in a league match against Chelsea. With success at club and international level, he was one of nine players to have won the FIFA World Cup, the European Cup and the Ballon d'Or. His elder brother Jack, who was also in the World Cup–winning team, was a former defender for Leeds United and also for ten years was the manager of the Republic of Ireland.
The Munich air disaster occurred on 6 February 1958 when British European Airways Flight 609 crashed on its third attempt to take off at Munich-Riem Airport in Munich, West Germany. The aircraft was carrying the Manchester United football team, nicknamed the "Busby Babes", along with supporters and journalists. There were 44 people on board, 20 of whom died at the scene. The injured, some unconscious, were taken to Munich's Rechts der Isar Hospital, where three more died, resulting in 23 fatalities with 21 survivors.
Duncan Edwards was an English footballer who played as a left-half for Manchester United and the England national team. He was one of the Busby Babes, the young United team formed under manager Matt Busby in the mid-1950s, playing 177 matches for the club. He was noted for his physical strength, toughness, and level of authority on the pitch, and has been ranked amongst the toughest players of all time. One of eight players who died as a result of the Munich air disaster, he survived initially but succumbed to his injuries in hospital two weeks later. Many of his contemporaries have described him as one of the best, if not the best, players with whom they had played.
George Best was a Northern Irish professional footballer who played as a winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United. A skillful dribbler, he is considered one of the greatest players of all time, along with being considered one of the most talented to play. He was named European Footballer of the Year in 1968 and came fifth in the FIFA Player of the Century vote. Best received plaudits for his playing style, which combined pace, skill, balance, feints, goalscoring and the ability to get past defenders. His style of play captured the public's imagination, and in 1999 he was on the six-man short-list for the BBC's Sports Personality of the Century. He was also an inaugural inductee into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002.
Natascha Abigail Taylor, known professionally as Natascha McElhone, is a British actress. She is a graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. In film, she is best known for her roles in Ronin (1998), The Truman Show (1998), and Solaris (2002).
Sir Alexander Matthew Busby was a Scottish football player and manager, who managed Manchester United between 1945 and 1969 and again for the second half of the 1970–71 season. He was the first manager of an English team to win the European Cup and is widely regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time.
Denis Law is a Scottish former footballer who played as a forward. His career as a football player began at Second Division Huddersfield Town in 1956. After four years at Huddersfield, he was signed by Manchester City for an estimated transfer fee of £55,000, which set a new British record. Law spent one year there before Torino bought him for £110,000, this time setting a new record fee for a transfer involving a British player. Although he played well in Italy, he found it difficult to settle there and signed for Manchester United in 1962, setting another British record transfer fee of £115,000.
Geoffrey Bent was an English footballer who played as a left back for Manchester United from 1948 until 1958. He was one of the Busby Babes, the young team formed under manager Matt Busby in the mid-1950s. Bent only made twelve first-team appearances for Manchester United, who already had an international-quality left back in Roger Byrne. Modern writers speculate that at most other teams Bent would have been a regular starter, and he was the subject of interest from fellow First Division clubs, but Busby refused to let him leave. He was one of eight Manchester United players who died in the Munich air disaster, when their aircraft crashed on its third attempt to take off from a slush-covered runway at Munich-Riem Airport after a European Cup match in Belgrade.
James Patrick Murphy was a Welsh footballer who made over 200 appearances for West Bromwich Albion and won 15 caps for the Wales national team, which he later managed. Murphy is most famous for being an influential figure at Manchester United from 1946 until the 1970s, as assistant manager, first-team coach, reserve team manager and a full-time scout, although he disliked the limelight and preferred to work quietly behind the scenes.
Wilfred McGuinness is an English former football player and manager, who played for Manchester United and twice for England in his short playing career.
The "Busby Babes" were the group of footballers, recruited and trained by Manchester United chief scout Joe Armstrong and assistant manager Jimmy Murphy, who progressed from the club's youth team into the first team under the management of the eponymous Matt Busby from the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s. The squad most associated with the name "babes" was that of the 1957–58 season, many of whom died in the Munich air disaster, and who, with an average age of 22, had been touted to dominate European football for the next few years.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, they changed their name to Manchester United in 1902.
The 1968–69 season was the 89th season of competitive football in England.
Brian Edward Cox is an English physicist and musician who is a professor of particle physics in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Manchester and The Royal Society Professor for Public Engagement in Science. He is best known to the public as the presenter of science programmes, especially BBC Radio 4’s The Infinite Monkey Cage and the Wonders of... series and for popular science books, such as Why Does E=mc²? and The Quantum Universe.
The Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year, previously known as the MUFC Members Player of the Year (1988–1995), is an award presented to the Manchester United fans' player of the season. It is named after former Manchester United manager Sir Matt Busby, who managed the club in two spells, from 1945 to 1969 and from 1970 to 1971. The award was renamed in his honour in 1996, following his death in 1994, and a new trophy was commissioned – a scaled-down replica of the statue of Busby at the east end of Old Trafford.
Fergie's Fledglings were a group of football players recruited by Manchester United under the management of Sir Alex Ferguson and trained by assistant coaches Brian Kidd and Eric Harrison, before eventually progressing to the first team during the 1990s.
United is a British television film directed by James Strong and written by Chris Chibnall. It is based on the true story of Manchester United's "Busby Babes" and the aftermath of the 1958 Munich air disaster, with the film's events taking place between August 1956 and May 1958. In particular, the film focuses on the experiences of assistant manager Jimmy Murphy, played by David Tennant, and Bobby Charlton, played by Jack O'Connell.
Matt Gallagher is an Irish former Gaelic footballer who played for Aodh Ruadh and, later, Naomh Bríd, as well as the Donegal county team. For many years he was Donegal's most capped player until Brian Roper broke his record.
Fatal Attraction is a 2014 play adapted from his original screenplay by James Dearden. It is based on the 1987 film Fatal Attraction, and it opened in London's West End at the Theatre Royal Haymarket on 25 March 2014, following previews from 8 March.
